Sylvia Earle calls for end to Antarctic krill fishing as talks near close

Krill harvest hit 620,000-ton limit early for second straight season

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle is calling for an end to krill fishing near Antarctica, saying the tiny crustaceans are so critical to the Antarctic ecosystem that no level of extraction can be considered sustainable. “There is no sustainable extraction of krill in Antarctica possible, period,” Earle — who in 1990 became the first woman to serve as chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — said in an interview in Rome, where she was promoting her conservation work. “Krill are critical to the integrity of the entire system — whales, fish, birds, seals, sea lions, you name it.”

Earle’s comments came as negotiators wrapped up the annual meeting in Australia of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the world’s southernmost fishery. Officials from the U.S., China, Russia and 24 other governments have been negotiating a possible deal to dramatically expand fishing for the crustacean in the international waters surrounding the ice-covered continent.

The group has been deadlocked for years over an industry-backed management plan to expand krill fishing, which environmentalists and CCAMLR’s own scientific committee insist should be accompanied by the long-delayed creation of a California-sized marine protected area near the environmentally sensitive Antarctic peninsula that would restrict fishing. The protected area was first proposed a decade ago by Argentina and Chile.

Krill fishing around Antarctica shut down early in August for the second year straight, after trawlers from mostly Norway and China hit a 620,000 metric ton limit before the season’s scheduled end.

The tiny crustaceans are primarily harvested for feed used to raise farmed fish and for the oil in red omega-3 capsules taken to improve heart, brain and joint health. Other sources of omega-3 exist — in fish oil, algae, even some vegetables — and nutritionists say it’s not necessary to take dietary supplements if you eat a balanced diet rich in the fatty acids.

Researchers increasingly are also studying the role krill plays in removing huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Krill need water colder than 4 degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit) to survive, and research has shown that krill populations have started to migrate toward cooler waters closer to the South Pole as oceans warm.

Earle, 91, was among those who pioneered the use of Scuba diving to conduct marine research after launching her career in the 1950s studying algae. In recent years, “Her Deepness,” as she is sometimes known, has focused on conservation through Mission Blue, an organization that champions so-called “Hope Spots” in the oceans critical to marine health. Its work supports a United Nations target of protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Although krill are one of the planet’s largest biomasses, Earle, a vegetarian, said there was no “safe number” that can be extracted without harming the surrounding Antarctic ecosystem. She singled out for criticism Norway’s Aker BioMarine, the pioneer in harvesting and marketing products made from krill. The company was founded by billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke, who amassed a fortune in Norway’s oil and gas industry.

“There’s one country, Norway, with one company really pushed essentially by one individual, that is responsible for taking about two-thirds of the krill to marketplace,” said Earle. “Some of it goes to make krill oil that has been marketed as good for our health. Maybe it is, but at what cost to the environment?”

“It’s all for choices. These are not necessities,” she added.

Rokke remains the largest shareholder in the company, which recently delisted from the Oslo stock exchange, through his Aker ASA industrial conglomerate. In 2024, Aker BioMarine spun off its fishing and krill meal operation, selling a majority stake to American Industrial Partners, a New York-based private equity firm. Rokke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aker QRILL’s chairman, Matts Johansen, is attending the CCAMLR talks in Australia. Over the past few years, Johansen has tried to bridge differences among negotiators, pushing a proposed plan that would both increase the overall fishing quota but spread out the catch to avoid excessive pressure on any single hot spot. The company also supports the creation of a marine protected area near the Antarctic peninsula.

“Decades of independent science from multiple countries, including the latest assessment of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, support the sustainability of the Antarctic krill fishery,” Johansen, who is also CEO of Aker BioMarine, said in a statement. “We recognize the concerns around concentrated fishing activity, which is why we support stronger science-based spatial management. With El Niño putting pressure on global marine resources and omega-3 supplies, responsible fisheries like this matter more than ever.”