China has commissioned three ‘super trawlers’, including the 120m-long Shen Lan
Chinese krill-seekers cause concern
EXCLUSIVE
China is dramatically expanding krill fishing in Antarctica, with three new super-trawlers, amid fears the global regulator may relax protections for the tiny crustacean, which underpins life in the Southern Ocean.
Scientists and conservationists are alarmed at China’s increasing interest in the Antarctic krill fishery, with Beijing commissioning three new “super-trawlers” using a continuous pumping system to “vacuum” krill.
Norway and Russia are also investing in krill super-trawlers, while a key conservation measure designed to protect the cornerstone species will lapse if not renewed at a global summit in Hobart starting on Monday.
The developments have raised concerns about a potential intensification of already highly concentrated fishing in areas off the Antarctic peninsula.
“It was just the Norwegians who had these super-trawler krill vessels that literally vacuum up the water and process the krill right on board, but now the Chinese have built one and (two) more Chinese vessels are coming on line,” said Andrea Kavanagh, of the Pew Charitable Trust.
“Having so many vessels capable of taking krill out in such huge numbers makes us worried about the future of that entire area.
“And (that concern) is not just for the penguins but also for the seals and whales that are really coming back strongly in the Antarctic.
We really don’t want to see a hugely concentrated krill fishery impacting that.”
The allowable krill catch is set by the 26-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which begins a three-week summit in Hobart on Monday.
A new CCAMLR report notes Norway was re-entering the krill fishery in 2022 with a purposebuilt 120m-long super-trawler, while China was now “placing great importance” on the fishery, with three super-trawlers commissioned.
“(China) has been upgrading its krill fishing fleet by designing and building new vessels … all operate using a continuous pumping system with fishing capabilities estimated to total at least 240,000 tonnes per year,” the report says.
The first vessel, the 120m-long Shen Lan, planned for operation this summer, is capable of sucking up 100,000 tonnes of krill a year.
In 2019, CCAMLR agreed to develop a new conservation measure for krill, based on detailed predator data, to improve protections for whales, seals and penguins in given areas but the necessary studies are taking longer than planned and an existing conservation measure is due to expire unless extended at the Hobart meeting.
If it lapses, there are fears krill fishing will be even further concentrated in current fishing areas near the Antarctic peninsula and South Orkney and South Georgia Islands.
Antarctica’s krill harvest has risen from 106,600 tonnes in 2005-06 to 450,782 tonnes in 2019-20.
Scientists and conservationists are alarmed at China’s increasing interest in the Antarctic krill fishery, with Beijing commissioning three new “super-trawlers” using a continuous pumping system to “vacuum” krill.
Norway and Russia are also investing in krill super-trawlers, while a key conservation measure designed to protect the cornerstone species will lapse if not renewed at a global summit in Hobart starting on Monday.
The developments have raised concerns about a potential intensification of already highly concentrated fishing in areas off the Antarctic peninsula.
“It was just the Norwegians who had these super-trawler krill vessels that literally vacuum up the water and process the krill right on board, but now the Chinese have built one and (two) more Chinese vessels are coming on line,” said Andrea Kavanagh, of the Pew Charitable Trust.
“Having so many vessels capable of taking krill out in such huge numbers makes us worried about the future of that entire area.
“And (that concern) is not just for the penguins but also for the seals and whales that are really coming back strongly in the Antarctic.
We really don’t want to see a hugely concentrated krill fishery impacting that.”
The allowable krill catch is set by the 26-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which begins a three-week summit in Hobart on Monday.
A new CCAMLR report notes Norway was re-entering the krill fishery in 2022 with a purposebuilt 120m-long super-trawler, while China was now “placing great importance” on the fishery, with three super-trawlers commissioned.
“(China) has been upgrading its krill fishing fleet by designing and building new vessels … all operate using a continuous pumping system with fishing capabilities estimated to total at least 240,000 tonnes per year,” the report says.
The first vessel, the 120m-long Shen Lan, planned for operation this summer, is capable of sucking up 100,000 tonnes of krill a year.
In 2019, CCAMLR agreed to develop a new conservation measure for krill, based on detailed predator data, to improve protections for whales, seals and penguins in given areas but the necessary studies are taking longer than planned and an existing conservation measure is due to expire unless extended at the Hobart meeting.
If it lapses, there are fears krill fishing will be even further concentrated in current fishing areas near the Antarctic peninsula and South Orkney and South Georgia Islands.
Antarctica’s krill harvest has risen from 106,600 tonnes in 2005-06 to 450,782 tonnes in 2019-20.