Adjusting the management of the Antarctic krill fishery to meet the challenges of the 21st century

Bettina Meyer, Javier Arata, Angus Atkinson, Dominik Bahlburg, Kim Bernard, César Cárdenas, Susie Grant, Simeon Hill, Lukas Hüppe, Taro Ichii, So Kawaguchi, Bjørn Krafft, Sara Labrousse (), Dale Maschette, Andrea Piñones, Christian Reiss, Bernd Siebenhüner, Zephyr Sylvester and Philippe Ziegler
Additional contact information
Bettina Meyer: AWI - Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine - Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association
Javier Arata: Association of Responsible Krill Harvesting Companies
Angus Atkinson: Plymouth Marine LaX 3Bratory
Dominik Bahlburg: AWI - Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine - Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association
Kim Bernard: OSU - Oregon State University
César Cárdenas: INACH - Instituto Antartico Chileno
Susie Grant: BAS - British Antarctic Survey - NERC - Natural Environment Research Council
Simeon Hill: BAS - British Antarctic Survey - NERC - Natural Environment Research Council
Lukas Hüppe: AWI - Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine - Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association
So Kawaguchi: AAD - Australian Antarctic Division, IMAS - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies [Hobart] - UTAS - University of Tasmania [Hobart]
Bjørn Krafft: IMR - Institute of Marine Research [Bergen] - UiB - University of Bergen
Sara Labrousse: LOCEAN-PROTEO - Processus et interactions de fine échelle océanique - LOCEAN - Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques - MNHN - Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - IPSL (FR_636) - Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNES - Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité
Dale Maschette: AAD - Australian Antarctic Division, IMAS - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies [Hobart] - UTAS - University of Tasmania [Hobart]
Andrea Piñones: BASE - Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), ICML - Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, IDEAL - Centro FONDAP de Investigación en Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes - Universidad Austral de Chile, COPAS - Centro de Investigación Oceanográfica en el Pacífico Sur Oriental - UdeC - Universidad de Concepción = University of Concepción [Chile]
Bernd Siebenhüner: HIFMB - Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg - OFFIS - Carl Von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg = Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Nelson Mandela University [Port Elizabeth]
Zephyr Sylvester: University of Colorado [Boulder]
Philippe Ziegler: AAD - Australian Antarctic Division

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Abstract: Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) is the central prey species in the Southern Ocean food web, supporting the largest and fastest-growing fishery in the region, managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Climate change is threatening krill populations and their predators, while current catch limits do not take into account climate variability or krill population dynamics. In 2024, CCAMLR was unable to renew its spatial catch limits, highlighting the urgent need for improved management of the krill fishery to prevent any harm to the Southern Ocean ecosystem. To address this, we propose a management framework that integrates variability in krill recruitment and key pathways between spawning and nursery areas—a krill stock hypothesis—to inform decisions on catch limits and conservation measures. Implementing this approach will require targeted data collection, which we propose can be achieved through a multisector collaborative network that combines traditional and new technologies, including the use of fishing vessels as data collection platforms. We use case studies to demonstrate how fisheries can contribute to data collection while promoting sustainable management. A major challenge in this effort is securing long-term funding for data collection, which is critical for managing climate-sensitive populations of high commercial interest. We therefore recommend using the industry as a source of funding, research platform and data provider, alongside national research funding opportunities. Given the fundamental role of krill in the Southern Ocean ecosystem, its decline would have cascading effects on predators and essential ecosystem services.

Date: 2025
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05380444v1
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Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025, 122 (37), ⟨10.1073/pnas.2412624122⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05380444

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2412624122

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