But progress on marine protected areas offers hope
Industrial krill fishing could expand into new areas of East Antarctica after countries again failed to strengthen protections for whales, penguins and seals at a meeting in Hobart.
The annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) wrapped up tonight, with countries failing to agree on critical fisheries management measures.
The result has prompted WWF to renew its calls for a moratorium on Antarctic krill fishing until effective management measures are established to protect krill and the wildlife that rely on them.
The Antarctic krill fishery has been forced to close early for the past two years after reaching its annual catch limit of 620,000 tonnes in the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea region.
The early closures are the result of a critical protection measure, which distributed krill fishing across different areas, being allowed to lapse in 2024.
Due to CCAMLR’s failure to resolve this issue, the krill fishery will continue to be managed without precautionary regulations in place. This means the entire fishing quota could be taken from a small area around the Antarctic Peninsula, which is a critical feeding ground for marine species.
Concerningly, kill fishing is also now poised to expand into East Antarctica, with nine vessels signalling their intent to fish in the area.
“Instead of reining in krill fishing, CCAMLR has left the door open for the fishery to expand into new areas of Antarctica without the safeguards this fragile ecosystem desperately needs,” said Emily Grilly, WWF-Australia’s Oceans Conservation Manager.
These concerns are highlighted by new research that indicate almost two-thirds of the chinstrap penguin population has disappeared from an Antarctic island due to krill availability.
“We need an immediate moratorium on krill fishing until the management and protection of Antarctica is dramatically improved,” said Ms Grilly.
“Major retailers have started to pull krill vitamin supplements off their shelves after David Attenborough’s Ocean film exposed the destruction caused by industrial krill fishing. We should be reconsidering whether we even need krill products at all.”
“These fishing vessels return to the same small regions every year and have sucked out millions of tonnes of krill from foraging grounds for wildlife in the past decade. At a time when whales, seals and penguins are already suffering from climate change and habitat loss, it’s unthinkable that CCAMLR is considering an expansion of industrial krill fishing to hoover up more of their food.”
Renewed hope for Antarctic marine protected areas
While CCAMLR didn’t reach an agreement on establishing new marine protected areas (MPAs) this year, momentum appears to be building to protect key areas of the Antarctic Peninsula.
“We saw encouraging progress this year in discussions to protect the Antarctic Peninsula, renewing hopes that an MPA could be established in this region in 2027,” said Ms Grilly.
“With the first High Seas Treaty COP in January, the year ahead will be critical for governments to work together and turn the global commitment to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 into action. That goal cannot be achieved without marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.”
CCAMLR nations demonstrated their ability to put differences aside and prioritise conservation when they established the Ross Sea region MPA in 2016.
“CCAMLR has shown it can be a global leader in ocean conservation. Now countries need to build on that legacy and finally deliver an Antarctic Peninsula MPA in 2027,” said Ms Grilly.