Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure

In this photo provided by Sea Shepherd, a whale swims near the krill trawler Fu Xing Hai with mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula in the background, on April 2, 2025. (Youenn Kerdavid/Sea Shepherd via AP)

Officials have shut down early the remote krill fishery near Antarctica after trawling for the tiny crustacean — a vital food source for whales that also helps fight climate change — exceeded the seasonal catch limit for the first time.

The unprecedented early closure of the fishery follows a report by The Associated Press last week detailing a record surge in the krill catch after a longstanding conservation framework was allowed to lapse with no plan in place to handle growing pressures in the world’s southernmost fishery.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the fishery, declined to comment but confirmed the closure earlier this month of the 2024-25 season, which should have extended until December, after fishing hit the 620,000 metric ton limit.

The U.S., Russia, China and two dozen other governments last year failed to approve a new management plan that would have mandated spreading out the area in which krill can be caught and create a California-sized reserve along the environmentally sensitive Antarctic Peninsula.

In the absence of a deal, industrial trawlers were allowed this season to essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats preferred by whales, penguins and seals. In one hot spot, the catch through June 30 was nearly 60 per cent higher than all of last season’s haul, according to an internal CCAMLR report obtained by the AP.

Krill is one of the most abundant marine species in the world, with an estimated biomass of 63 million metric tons. But advances in fishing, climate change and growing demand for krill’s Omega-3 rich oil – for fishmeal, pet food and human dietary supplements — have increased pressure on the krill stocks. In the 2023-24 season, a fleet of 12 trawlers from mostly Norway and China caught 498,350 tons of krill — until now the largest harvest since CCAMLR began collecting catch data in 1973.

Underscoring the competition between humans and whales, three humpback whales were found dead or seriously injured last year in the long, cylindrical nets deployed by the vessels to vacuum up the paper-clip sized crustacean.

Krill aren’t just vital to marine ecosystems. Increasingly, researchers are focusing on their role as a bulwark against climate change. One peer-reviewed study found that krill remove from the atmosphere and store in the ocean 20 million tons of carbon annually. That’s the equivalent of taking off the road 5 million cars every year.

Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press