Sustainable and predictable future for fisheries in Antarctica. Developing a scientifically based, data driven krill management system

he FAO estimates that a 70 % increase in production of food and nutrients by 2050 is needed. The pressure on land-based resources is already critical in terms of climate emissions, freshwater use, and biodiversity loss. Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) is one of the world?s biggest yet most underutilized marine resources. Krill is regulated by CCAMLR (Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) through a fixed, precautionary approach where harvest is capped at a 620 000 MT ?trigger? level representing approximately 1% of the estimated biomass distributed across the Antarctic Peninsula.

The FAO estimates that a 70 % increase in production of food and nutrients is needed by 2050, acknowledging that pressure on land based resources is already critical in terms of climate emissions, freshwater use, and biodiversity loss. Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) is one of the world’s biggest yet most underutilized marine resources. Krill is regulated by CCAMLR (Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) through a fixed approach where harvest is capped at a 620 000 MT “trigger” level representing approximately 1% of the biomass distributed across the Antarctic Peninsula. CCAMLR, acknowledging the room for improvements in krill management, has in 2019 decided to expedite the development of Feedback Management for the krill fishery with a view to replace the current krill regulation at the end of 2024. The science deliverables from all science parties involved is going according to plan and CCAMLR is making progress. Feedback management is a krill management system that will rely on close to real-time data collection of local krill biomass to monitor krill density, distribution and potential climate change impacts on the stock. Catch levels will be decided dynamically in response to data on natural krill stock variation, local abundance and ecosystem needs. The core idea of Aker BioMarines’s Sufiant project is to develop a Feedback Management concept that enables industry to collect, monitor and process scientific biomass data from fishing vessels and unmanned ocean drones, as well as gathering information on the functional relationships between krill and krill predators. Together with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), as well as logistical assistance by Hurtigruten, development of a a scientifically based, automated processing tool for krill biomass estimation will be prioritized along with empirical knowledge on the functional relationships between krill and predator movements and feeding requirements, to deliver an operationalized management solution for endorsement and implementation in CCAMLR. Sufiant funded activity will also enable a linked science project funded by AWR and led by Cape Town University, who carried out field work in 2022.