The Ocean School - Marine Science – Lifeforms – Krill

By Thomas Bergh

 

What are Krill? Krill are a small shrimp-like zooplankton, a tiny crustacean with 85 recognized species, living in all our oceans. Our knowledge of their relationship to the marine environment is not fully known, but their importance to the survival of more Southern Seas life forms, the whales, seals, birds and lesser critters is clear. Development of this fishery raises important, even critical issues in the health of other species. As a commercial enterprise, the krill fishery faces unique issues of nutrient loss, specialized equipment, and best uses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery

“The Antarctic krill fishery has been the largest fishery in the Southern Ocean since the late 1970s (Croxall & Nicol 2004). In most recent years, almost all krill fishing vessels have been operating in coastal areas of the South West Atlantic region, where the catch rate has historically been higher.  This fishery is the largest crustacean fishery in the world and it has prospects for becoming the largest global fishery (Nicol & Endo 1997).  There is potential for a rapid expansion of the fishery in future years, as krill-processing technology develops and demand for krill products increases. This raises concerns about the future of the vulnerable and still little understood Antarctic marine ecosystem.”

            See Link: http://www.lighthouse-foundation.org/index.php?id=176&L=1

The concern for this specialized Antarctic fishery is only just beginning to meet the mainstream, as indicated by the following story of National Geographic:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0805_030805_antarctic.html

This information is crucial for getting ahead of the upcoming boom in Antarctic krill harvesting, and the effects of the changing ice field. See ‘Recent Trend in the Fishery for Antarctic Krill’, http://www.edpsciences.org/articles/alr/pdf/2003/01/alr3065.pdf?access=ok

Additional Links:

Antarctic History and Prospects: http://sandypool.tripod.com/krill/id10.html
Time to Krill? http://www.eco-action.org/dt/timeto.html