Krill, the shrimp-like marine creatures with which seals, whales and other sea animals thrive on to survive, currently exist in a fragile ecosystem. Although the US already imposed a ban on krill fishing in the country’s territorial waters, fishing for krill in Antarctica has beeecologyn ongoing for the past decades and up to the present.
The continuously growing demand for krill comes from manufacturers of omega-3 pills, protein shakes, pet food and feeds for farm-raised fish. Environmental scientists are giving out warnings that the fishing industry is at a critical crossroad, needing to impose stricter control over krill fishing as the temperature continues to grow warmer while the impact of climate change is yet undetermined.
However, any further action can be mired by the political wrangling between China and Russia over who can immediately expand their krill catch.
Environmentalists observe a Chilean 269-foot, 80-meter super trawler fishing vessel that also processes the paper clip-sized Antarctic krill.
In the meanwhile during every December, about 10 to 12 Chinese and Norwegian fishing vessels cross the rough seas to reach South Orkney Islands, located at the tip of South America. The place is actually a barren area composed of rocky outcrops.
Here krill fishing takes place where swarms of krill have migrated until they can work their way back into the South Pole. As temperatures warm, the fishing vessels follow the huge swarms, fishing at the very foundation of the krill’s role in the food web ecosystem.