Cites management setbacks, climate change, and dramatic environmental changes unraveling the Southern Ocean’s delicate web of life
Washington, March 2nd - Today, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) submitted a formal objection to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) regarding the decision to re-certify the Antarctic krill fishery as sustainable, despite serious concerns about growing industrial fishing pressure and dramatic climate-driven impacts on the ecosystem.
The objection initiates an independent legal adjudication process over the coming months that, if successful, could result in a change to the MSC certification of the fishery, or the imposition of new conditions to safeguard the krill stock and wider ecosystem.
Today, demand for krill is driven largely by aquaculture’s search for new protein sources as many wild fish stocks decline. Aker QRILL, a Norwegian company, accounts for approximately 60 percent of the entire harvest, primarily for use as feed in farm-raised salmon, though smaller enterprises from Chile and South Korea also operate under the MSC label.
“Our objection is about ensuring that the environmental impacts of the krill fishery have been accurately assessed,” said Claire Christian, ASOC’s executive director. “In this case, we don’t think that the assessment fully analysed the unique realities and risks of a fishery that operates in one of the most climate-sensitive ecosystems on Earth.”
Last year, the krill fishery exceeded its quota and was forced to close three months early for the first time ever after a rule designed to spatially manage the fishery in the Antarctic Peninsula, home to about a third of the species’ entire population, was allowed to expire.
Consequently, the international krill fishing fleet has been concentrating its effort in a relatively small area, which is also key feeding grounds for whales, seals, penguins and other marine life.
The growing pressure is compounding the impacts climate change and pollution are having on krill as human activity increasingly encroaches on the planet’s last true wilderness. Since the 1970s, it is estimated that krill biomass has declined by 70-80 percent in parts of the Southern Ocean.
Yet the decision ignores this vital ecological context while emphasizing that the fishery removes less than 1% of the krill’s total estimated biomass, and has proposed even higher sustainability scores in the current reassessment.
ASOC’s objection underscores a number of other fallacies in the rationale to re-certify the fishery:
- “Only 1% of krill biomass is taken” is misleading. Biomass estimates are based on sparse, infrequent surveys and do not reflect rapid, climate-driven stock dynamics.
- Climate change undermines confidence in catch limits. Record-low sea ice and projected habitat contraction means using historic biomass assumptions to manage krill in a changing environment are no longer precautionary.
- Risk is local, not broad-scale. Even a low overall catch can harm predators when fishing concentrates in krill-dependent hotspots.
- Concentration has increased. Without subarea limits, fishing pressure intensified in sensitive regions, contributing to record catches and early closures.
- Early closures signal failure, not success. Reactive shutdowns occur after damage is done and reveal an unmanaged “race to fish.”
- The Olympic quota system fuels over-concentration. Shared, non-allocated quotas incentivize faster, consolidated fishing effort.
- Predators bear the cost. In subarea 48.1—critical for penguins and feeding humpback whales—there was a 118% increase in fishing effort in the last season.
- “Real-time” reporting is not real time. Five-day reporting delays and inconsistent catch-estimation methods enabled the quota overrun.
- Observer coverage is incomplete. A growing portion of the fleet lacks independent observers, limiting verification of ecosystem impacts.
- Voluntary penguin protections are inadequate. Restricted zones displaced effort rather than reducing pressure on sensitive ecosystems.
Science-backed MPAs remain stalled. Robust marine protected areas face higher evidentiary barriers than krill extraction, reversing precaution.
WWF also submitted an objection to the recertification, citing serious concerns about growing industrial fishing pressure and dramatic climate-driven impacts on the ecosystem.
“Antarctic Krill are the powerhouse of the Southern Ocean, and mismanagement of the krill fishery is having a major negative impact on the species which depend on krill, such as whales. To protect this extraordinary species and wider ecosystem WWF is calling for an immediate moratorium on krill fishing and a review of the sustainability certification issued by the MSC until more precautionary fisheries management measures are agreed by CCAMLR,” said Rhona Kent, Polar Oceans Programme Manager at WWF-UK.
Antarctic krill are the foundation of the Southern Ocean food web, sustaining whales, penguins, seals, seabirds, and fish. Krill also plays a critical role in the global climate system by sequestering large quantities of carbon to the deep ocean.
“MSC claims that its label only applies to fisheries with high environmental standards,” said Christian. “This case highlights a clear mismatch between the certification and the contemporary reality of the Antarctic krill fishery.”