Global Leaders Can Advance Southern Ocean Protections at Australia Meeting

Off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, a narrowing finger of land and islands that stretch toward South America, lies one of the most biologically productive regions of the Southern Ocean, home to iconic predators such as penguins, seals, and whales, many of which migrate thousands of kilometers to feed there.

But for years, these and other Southern Ocean waters have faced increased fishing pressure by fleets targeting krill, a crustacean that anchors the Antarctic ocean food web. As a result, many of the governments that make up the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) have proposed new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region, including one—known as Domain 1—off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Because CCAMLR requires consensus to adopt new MPAs, none of those proposals have passed yet, but during a year of significant advances in ocean protections around the world, observers are hoping that could change when CCAMLR delegates meet Oct. 20-31 in Hobart, Australia, to consider enhanced protections and a krill fishery management plan.

Among the global successes this year was the United Nations’ adoption of the first treaty to protect the high seas, and the entry into force of a World Trade Organization agreement to end harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing and illegal fishing. Ocean advocates around the world hope that CCAMLR will build on this momentum.

The proposed Domain 1 MPA would protect 460,000 square kilometers (177,606 square miles) of waters off the Antarctic Peninsula and South Scotia Arc. Although the region is one of the most biologically productive of the Southern Ocean, it is experiencing increased sea ice melting and rising fishing pressures for the food that many Antarctic species rely on for survival. Krill—tiny, shrimplike crustaceans that grow no longer than a human finger—are the main food source for penguins, seals, whales, and seabirds.

In Antarctic waters, the krill fishery is the largest of any species by catch weight, and the fishing activity occurs in highly concentrated coastal areas that are also important feeding grounds for many predators. If overconcentrated fishing continues, it could threaten the health and survival of baleen whales, penguins, seals, fish, and seabirds.

Yet growing demand for krill products—including industrial aquaculture food supplement, pet food, and omega-3 and krill oil dietary supplements—has contributed to rising catch levels. In the past two decades, trawling for krill has more than quadrupled because of new techniques of continuous trawling deployed by a growing fleet, according to data from CCAMLR. In August, the Associated Press reported that the krill fishery reached its seasonal catch limit of 620,000 metric tons for the first time, triggering the early closure of the remote fishery.

In 2009, CCAMLR committed to create a network of Southern Ocean MPAs, but only two—around the South Orkney Islands and in the Ross Sea—have been designated since then. CCAMLR agreed in 2019 to update the rules governing the management of the krill fishery. The commission is considering proposals that limit krill fishing in areas that are vital to krill predators while still allowing fishing in other areas that receive less traffic from predators.

MPAs are an effective tool to protect ocean ecosystems because they significantly increase the diversity and abundance of species in a region while enhancing the ocean’s resilience to environmental impacts, including climate change. Moreover, an MPA network should also benefit the krill fishery by making it more sustainable in the long term.

Without better management of krill and the designation of the Antarctic Peninsula MPA, the Antarctic ecosystem will be drastically altered, with untold consequences for marine life. The upcoming CCAMLR meeting will therefore be an important moment for member nations to adopt new measures to safeguard krill and the species that depend on them. The outcome will carry significant impacts for one of Earth’s most important marine regions. CCAMLR should seize this opportunity to make good on its name by indeed conserving Antarctic marine life.

Emil Dediu is a senior officer and Nicholas Kirkham is an officer with Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy.