Antarctic krill, *Euphausia superba* Dana, 1850.

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba Dana, 1850.



Map of the management areas within the CAMLR Convention Area. Subareas 48.1 to 48.4, the regions discussed in this report are shaded in green. Throughout this report, “2021” refers to the 2020/21 CCAMLR fishing season (from 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2021).

Map of the management areas within the CAMLR Convention Area. Subareas 48.1 to 48.4, the regions discussed in this report are shaded in green. Throughout this report, “2021” refers to the 2020/21 CCAMLR fishing season (from 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2021).



1. Introduction to the fishery

1.1. History

The commercial fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) was initiated in 1961/62 when 47 tonnes were taken by two research vessels from the USSR. During the following decade, small catches of krill were reported by the USSR as part of the research phase of the fishery development. A multi-vessel multi-nation fishery for krill was active by the early to mid-1970s (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Catches of krill in the CAMLR Convention Area reported by Argentina (ARG), Chile (CHL), China (CHN), German Democratic Republic (DDR), Spain (ESP), United Kingdom (GBR), Japan (JPN), Republic of Korea (KOR), Latvia (LVA), Norway (NOR), Panama (PAN), Poland (POL), Russian Federation (RUS), USSR (SUN), Ukraine (UKR), Uruguay (URY), United States of America (USA), Vanuatu (VUT) and South Africa (ZAF). (Source: Statistical Bulletin and C1 data for most recent season).

Figure 1. Catches of krill in the CAMLR Convention Area reported by Argentina (ARG), Chile (CHL), China (CHN), German Democratic Republic (DDR), Spain (ESP), United Kingdom (GBR), Japan (JPN), Republic of Korea (KOR), Latvia (LVA), Norway (NOR), Panama (PAN), Poland (POL), Russian Federation (RUS), USSR (SUN), Ukraine (UKR), Uruguay (URY), United States of America (USA), Vanuatu (VUT) and South Africa (ZAF). (Source: Statistical Bulletin and C1 data for most recent season).

The history of catches in the krill fishery (Fig. 2) shows the initial increase in catches followed by a sudden decrease in 1983 and 1984, associated with technical difficulties in the fishery (Budzinski et al., 1985) and/or with an ecosystem anomaly that also impacted the reproductive performance of krill predators at South Georgia in 1984 (Priddle et al., 1988). The large drop in catches from 1992 to 1993 reflects the redeployment of the eastern bloc far-seas fisheries fleet following the dissolution of the USSR. The increase in catches since 2010 is largely driven by catches by Norway, and, the catch in Area 48 in 2020 was the largest catch reported from that Area.

Figure 2. Annual catches of Antarctic krill (*Euphausia superba*) in the CAMLR Convention Area. (Source: Statistical Bulletin and C1 data for most recent season).

Figure 2. Annual catches of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the CAMLR Convention Area. (Source: Statistical Bulletin and C1 data for most recent season).

The CCAMLR database holds data on krill catches starting in 1973. The majority of the catch was reported by the USSR (41.3%), Norway (21%), Japan (16.8%) and the Republic of Korea (6.9%). The other fishing nations reported less than 5% of the catch. The CCAMLR Members that have fished for 20 years or more are Japan (40 years), Republic of Korea (34 years), Poland (33 years), Chile (23 years) and Ukraine (21 years). Catches of krill have been reported by 19 nations, including catches reported by Latvia in 1993, Panama in 1995 and Vanuatu in 2004 and 2005 (Fig. 1). In the period 2011-2021, seven Members have fished for krill, 61.7% of the total catch has been taken by Norway, 16.2% by China and 12.9% by the Republic of Korea.

The continuous fishing system (a system where the codend of the net is emptied via a pump connected to the vessel rather than being hauled aboard as in ‘traditional’ trawling) was first used in the krill fishery in 2004 by a Vanuatu-flagged vessel, this vessel also fished in 2005. It was replaced by a Norwegian vessel, also using the continuous fishing system, in 2006. Both this fishing method and the traditional trawling continue to be used in the krill fishery.

As the fishery developed, the location of fishing has moved from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean sector and has focused almost entirely in the Atlantic sector since the early 2000s (Fig. 3). In the past 10 years, the spatial distribution of the fishery has become focused in the region of the Bransfield Strait off the Antarctic Peninsula (Subarea 48.1), to the northwest of Coronation Island (Subarea 48.2) and to the north of South Georgia (Subarea 48.3).

Given the geographic focus of the krill fishery in recent decades, the remainder of this report is focused on Area 48. There are catch limits for krill in Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2 (see Conservation Measures 51-02 and 51-03) but there was no commercial krill fishing in these two divisions between 1991 and 2016 and only small level of catches since 2017.

Figure 3. Spatial distribution of catches by decade in the krill fishery reported to CCAMLR (Source: FAO STATLANT data before 1988, C1 data since 1988). In the period 1973-1979, catches are reported at the scale of the FAO Major Fishing Areas: Area 48 (South Atlantic sector), Area 58 (Indian Ocean sector) and Area 88 (Pacific Ocean sector). In the period 1980-1987, this reporting includes catches by Subarea within Area 48. Since 1988 the provision of catch data to CCAMLR has either been at a spatial scale of 1 deg. longitude by 0.5 deg. latitude, with catches aggregated over monthly, 10-day and daily timescales, or, by individual haul. The aggregation of the data in the four lower panels uses equal area (100 km x 100 km) cells.

Figure 3. Spatial distribution of catches by decade in the krill fishery reported to CCAMLR (Source: FAO STATLANT data before 1988, C1 data since 1988). In the period 1973-1979, catches are reported at the scale of the FAO Major Fishing Areas: Area 48 (South Atlantic sector), Area 58 (Indian Ocean sector) and Area 88 (Pacific Ocean sector). In the period 1980-1987, this reporting includes catches by Subarea within Area 48. Since 1988 the provision of catch data to CCAMLR has either been at a spatial scale of 1 deg. longitude by 0.5 deg. latitude, with catches aggregated over monthly, 10-day and daily timescales, or, by individual haul. The aggregation of the data in the four lower panels uses equal area (100 km x 100 km) cells.

In 1991 CCAMLR agreed Conservation Measure 32/X in which the total catch of Euphausia superba in Statistical Area 48 was limited to 1.5 million tonnes in any fishing season based on the outcome of a krill yield model. That conservation measure also specified that catch limits, to be agreed by the Commission on the basis of advice of the Scientific Committee, would be applied to Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 if the total catch in Area 48 in any fishing season exceeded 620,000 tonnes. In effect this set a constraint on the fishery by requiring an additional management approach if the catch exceeded 620,000 tonnes; a measure that was introduced to restrict the potential for all of the 1.5 million tonne catch limit being taken from a small part of the overall area.

The limit of 620,000 tonnes is based on historical catches in Area 48 and represents the sum of the maximum catch taken from each of the subareas over the history of the fishery (it should not be, but sometimes is, confused with the maximum catch ever taken in the whole of Area 48 in one year).

In 2000, following a large-scale survey of krill in Area 48 (which estimated the biomass to be 56 million tonnes), CCAMLR agreed Conservation Measure 32/XIX that set the revised catch limit in Statistical Area 48 to 4.0 million tonnes and divided this into subarea specific catch limits of 1.008 million tonnes in Subarea 48.1, 1.104 million tonnes in Subarea 48.2, 1.056 million tonnes in Subarea 48.3 and 0.832 million tonnes in Subarea 48.4. Conservation Measure 32/XIX also determined that if the total catch in Statistical Area 48 in any fishing season exceeded 620,000 tonnes that the subarea catch limits should be applied to smaller management units. In doing so Conservation Measure 32/XIX retained the practice of setting a catch limit for the whole of Area 48 and dividing it between subareas; furthermore it required catch limits to be in place for management units smaller than Subareas if fishing in any season exceeded 620,000 tonnes.

In 2007 CCAMLR agreed Conservation Measure 51-01 (2007) in which it revised the catch limit in Area 48 to 3.47 million tonnes in any fishing season, based on a reanalysis of the large scale survey from 2000 and a revised parametrisation of the yield model. It also introduced the term “trigger level” and stated that the total combined catch in Subareas 48.1, 48.2, 48.3 and 48.4 would be limited to a “trigger level” of 620,000 tonnes in any fishing season until the Commission defined an allocation of this total catch limit between smaller management units, based on the advice from the Scientific Committee.

In 2009, following extensive discussion in the Scientific Committee, CCAMLR agreed Conservation Measure 51-07 that created a distribution of the 620,000 tonne trigger level (specified in Conservation Measure 51-01) such that no more than 25% can be taken from Subarea 48.1, no more than 45% can be taken from Subarea 48.2 and Subarea 48.3 and no more than 15% from Subarea 48.4. These percentages deliberately sum to more than 100% in order to provide flexibility to the fishery while achieving the objective of distributing fishing effort. These limits remain in force in 2021 and are due to be reviewed in 2022.

Figure 4. Location of Small Scale Management Units in Area 48. In Subarea 48.1: 1. Pelagic Area (APPA), 2. Antarctic Peninsula West (APW), 3. Drake Passage West (APDPW), 4. Drake Passage East (APDPE), 5. Elephant Island (APEI), 6. Bransfield Strait West (APBSW), 7. Bransfield Strait East (APBSE), 8. Antarctic Peninsula East (APE). These are grouped into 481PA (1), 481N (2, 3, 4 and 5) and 481S (6, 7 and 8) for the aggregation of length frequency distributions of krill (following the recommendation of WG-EMM-15 SC-CAMLR-XXXIV, Annex 6, paragraph 2.10). In Subarea 48.2: South Orkney Pelagic Area (SOPA), South Orkney West (SOW), South Orkney Northeast (SONE), South Orkney Southeast (SOSE). In Subarea 48.3: South Georgia Pelagic Area (SGPA), South Georgia West (SGW), South Georgia East (SGE). In Subarea 48.4: South Sandwich Pelagic Area (SSPA), South Sandwich Islands (SSI).

Figure 4. Location of Small Scale Management Units in Area 48. In Subarea 48.1: 1. Pelagic Area (APPA), 2. Antarctic Peninsula West (APW), 3. Drake Passage West (APDPW), 4. Drake Passage East (APDPE), 5. Elephant Island (APEI), 6. Bransfield Strait West (APBSW), 7. Bransfield Strait East (APBSE), 8. Antarctic Peninsula East (APE). These are grouped into 481PA (1), 481N (2, 3, 4 and 5) and 481S (6, 7 and 8) for the aggregation of length frequency distributions of krill (following the recommendation of WG-EMM-15 SC-CAMLR-XXXIV, Annex 6, paragraph 2.10). In Subarea 48.2: South Orkney Pelagic Area (SOPA), South Orkney West (SOW), South Orkney Northeast (SONE), South Orkney Southeast (SOSE). In Subarea 48.3: South Georgia Pelagic Area (SGPA), South Georgia West (SGW), South Georgia East (SGE). In Subarea 48.4: South Sandwich Pelagic Area (SSPA), South Sandwich Islands (SSI).


1.2. Conservation Measures currently in force

The limits on the fishery for krill in Area 48 are summarised in Table 1. The same provisions apply for the fishery for krill in Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2, with the exception of the catch limits that are specified in Conservation Measures 51-02 and 51-03.

Table 1. Summary of CCAMLR limits in force and related Conservation Measures (CMs) for the krill fishery in Subareas 48.1, 48.2, 48.3 and 48.4.
Element Limits in force
Target species The target species is Euphausia superba and any species other than Euphausia superba is by-catch
Access (gear) Trawling only
Notification All Members intending to fish for krill must notify the Commission in accordance with CM 21-03
Catch limit 155,000 tonnes in Subarea 48.1 - 279,000 tonnes in each of Subareas 48.2 and 48.3 - and 93,000 tonnes in Subarea 48.4 (CM 51-07)
Move-on rule No move-on rules apply
Season 1 December to 30 November of the following year
By-catch By-catch rates as in CM 33-01 apply in Subarea 48.3
Bird and mammal mitigation Specific advice requirements in accordance with CMs 25-03 and 51-01
Observers Scientific observers should be deployed on vessels in accordance with CM 51-06
Data Monthly and or five-day catch and effort reporting
Haul-by-haul catch and effort data
Data reported by the CCAMLR scientific observer
Research No specific requirement
Environmental protection Regulated by CM 26-01 during fishing operations


1.3. Active vessels

In 2021, 12 vessels fished in at least one of the three Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 (Table 3).

Fishing notifications for next season

Members intending to participate in established fisheries for krill in the 2022 fishing season (in Subareas 48.1, 48.2, 48.3 and 48.4 and Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2) had to notify the Commission no later than 1 June 2021. The procedures for krill fishery notification submissions are described in Conservation Measure 21-03. For the 2022 Season, 5 Members notified their intention to fish for krill with a total of 13 vessels (Table 2); these notifications are often subject to revisions/withdrawals of vessels and the most up-to-date information can be found here.

Table 2. Notifications (N) of intention to fish for krill in 2022 by Subarea/Division.
Vessel Name Member Subarea 48.1 Subarea 48.2 Subarea 48.3 Subarea 48.4
Antarctic Endeavour Chile N N N
Fu Yuan Yu 9818 China N N N N
Long Fa China N N N N
Shen Lan China N N N N
Long Teng China N N N N
Fu Rong Hai China N N N N
Sae In Champion Korea, Republic of N N N
Sejong Korea, Republic of N N N
Sae In Leader Korea, Republic of N N
Antarctic Sea Norway N N N N
Saga Sea Norway N N N N
Antarctic Endurance Norway N N N N
More Sodruzhestva Ukraine N N N
Total Members 5 5 5 2
Total Vessels 13 13 12 8


1.4. Catch and effort reporting

Aggregated catch and effort reporting in the krill fishery is on a 5-day basis, where reports of catch and effort in one 5-day period must be provided within 2 days of the end of that 5-day period. These data are used to monitor the progress of the fishery and to close the fishery as the catch limit is reached.

Detailed information for each haul in the krill fishery, including location, time, target and non-target catch is provided in the C1 reporting forms (with data required to be submitted by the end of the month following data collection). In order to accommodate data from the continuous fishing system, in a format that is compatible with the reporting system for conventional trawling, catches are reported in ‘haul intervals’ of two hours for the entire period that the trawl is in the water.


2. Reported catch

2.1. Latest reports and limits

In 2020 a total 450781 tonnes of E. superba was caught from Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3. In 2021 a total 371526 tonnes of E. superba was caught from Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 (Table 3).


Table 3. Recent catch and effort history for E. superba by Subareas.
Subarea 48.1
Subarea 48.2
Subarea 48.3
Total
Season Catch (tonnes) Number of vessels Catch (tonnes) Number of vessels Catch (tonnes) Number of vessels Catch (tonnes) Number of vessels
2000 76984 11 16932 7 19346 5 113262 11
2001 52322 7 4998 4 35730 6 93050 7
2002 10700 4 54973 6 39912 7 105585 7
2003 32694 7 16940 7 66159 9 115793 9
2004 15643 7 48192 8 56144 10 119979 10
2005 7096 6 72262 9 48460 7 127818 9
2006 90570 8 3112 4 14901 3 108583 8
2007 15971 6 68021 5 20736 5 104728 6
2008 2582 2 88805 5 57629 7 149016 8
2009 34118 6 91588 7 0 1 125706 7
2010 154330 9 50492 9 8834 2 213656 10
2011 9215 9 115995 12 55801 6 181011 13
2012 75823 11 28997 5 56415 5 161235 12
2013 153254 11 30577 8 32221 7 216052 12
2014 146438 12 72455 10 75252 7 294145 12
2015 154177 12 17101 6 54354 7 225632 12
2016 154441 11 34301 6 71407 6 260149 12
2017 149334 9 69046 6 18558 5 236938 9
2018 151677 9 137880 7 23174 5 312731 9
2019 155795 10 162574 10 71799 5 390168 10
2020 157081 12 178382 12 115318 9 450781 12
2021 161772 12 209754 10 371526 12


Table 4. Monthly catch (tonnes) history for E. superba by Subarea/Division in the calendar year 2020.
Subarea/Division
Month 48.1 48.2 48.3 Total
December 5371 5371
January 63067 63067
February 59221 59221
March 27760 31377 59137
April 52070 15160 67230
May 77252 77252
June 239 18103 18342
July 35510 35510
August 43539 43539
September 18166 18166
Total 157081 178382 115318 450782


Table 5. Monthly catch (tonnes) history for E. superba by Subarea/Division in the calendar year 2021.
Subarea/Division
Month 48.1 48.2 Total
December 3623 11398 15021
January 4816 30742 35558
February 1343 66134 67478
March 23143 20403 43546
April 58799 58799
May 54589 3518 58108
June 15457 7033 22491
July 18989 18989
August 20272 20272
September 19925 19925
October 7509 7509
Total 161772 209754 371526


2.2. By-catch

Fish by-catch data are available from vessel-reported haul-by-haul data as well as from observer data. Detailed information on the fish by-catch reported from the krill fishery was provided in WG-FSA-2021/05. SISO observers collect a 25kg sample of krill from a point on the vessel where no pre-sorting of the catch has occurred for a subset of hauls. They then remove all fish from that sample, identify them to the most specific taxonomic level possible, record the total length for each fish and the total mass for each taxa. The total by-catch by species in the haul-by-haul data are reported in the ‘fine-scale catch and effort (C1)’ forms as specified in Conservation Measure 23-04. There are no by-catch limits in place for the krill fishery.

The relative frequency of fish by-catch in the C1 data is lower than in the SISO, reflecting the practicalities of the more detailed sampling by the scientific observers (Fig. 5).

Figure 5. Frequency of occurrence of fish by-catch reported in the C1 data (excluding hauls that also have SISO data; blue) and in the SISO data (green) since 2010.

Figure 5. Frequency of occurrence of fish by-catch reported in the C1 data (excluding hauls that also have SISO data; blue) and in the SISO data (green) since 2010.



There is a high degree of overlap in the most frequently reported taxa in the C1 data and SISO data, with painted rockcod (Lepidonothen larseni) the most frequently reported in both datasets (WG-FSA-18/10). The spatial distribution of the most frequently occurring by-catch taxa indicates that they can be considered in three general groups, that include those taxa that are:

  1. restricted to Subarea 48.1 with rare occurrences in Subarea 48.2 (spiny icefish - Chaenodraco wilsoni)

  2. recorded in all subareas but were more frequent in Subarea 48.1 (blackfin icefish - Chaenocephalus aceratus, Chiodraco hamatus, Chionodraco rastrospinosus, Cryodraco antarcticus and Antarctic silverfish - Pleurogramma antarctica), or

  3. recorded in all subareas but were more frequent in Subarea 48.3 (mackerel icefish - Champsocephalus gunnari and L. larseni).

The length frequency distribution of all by-catch taxa for which >200 fish have been measured had a modal size class below 10cm, although many species show multi-moded length frequenciy distributions (WG-FSA-18/10).

2.3. Incidental mortality of seabirds and marine mammals

In 2021, 15 Cape petrel (D. capense) mortalities in Subareas 48.1 and 37 Snow petrel (P. nivea) mortalities in Subarea 48.2 were reported from the krill fishery (Table 6).

Table 6. Number of reported birds caught (killed or with injuries likely to substantially reduce long-term survival) in this fishery since 2010 in each Subarea.
Season Daption capense Pagodroma nivea Other
Subarea 48.1
2012 1
2016 1 2
2017 1
2018 1
2021 15 1 3
Subarea 48.2
2016 1
2017 1
2018 1
2019 2
2021 1 37 2
Subarea 48.3
2020 1

Prior to 2003, no incidental fur seal catches had been reported from the krill fishery. In 2003, discussions on the level of Antarctic fur seal mortality associated with the krill fishery first took place in the Working Group on Incidental Mortality Associated with Fishing (WG-IMAF). This was prompted by information included in the Report of Members’ Activities that in the krill fishery in Area 48, between 13 March and 26 August 2003, 73 Antarctic fur seals had been caught by one vessel in the krill fishery (of which 26 were killed and 47 were released alive). WG-IMAF recommended that vessel operators and researchers collaborate to develop and implement mitigation methods and requested that the Scientific Committee address how best to arrange appropriate reporting from the krill fishery (SC-CAMLR-XXII, Annex 5, paragraph 6.231).

In 2004, data collected as part of SISO indicated that 292 fur seals were caught in Subarea 48.3. Some Members investigated and documented the use of mitigation devices to reduce seal entrapment in krill trawl nets and reported on the efficacy of seal-exclusion devices (SEDs). The Commission endorsed a recommendation by the Scientific Committee that a description of all methods be compiled into one document and distributed amongst CCAMLR Members (CCAMLR-XXIII, paragraph 5.20). WG-IMAF also discussed the apparent inconsistencies and inadequacies of observer data on incidental mortality of fur seals and recommended the Commission require all krill trawl vessels to carry an observer to improve bycatch mitigation management efforts (SC-CAMLR-XXIII, Annex 5, paragraph 7.236).

In 2005, the number of seals observed captured in Area 48 was reduced to 97, however, the Scientific Committee reiterated its recommendations that every krill fishing vessel should employ an SED and that observers should be required on krill trawl vessels to collect reliable data on mortalities and efficacy of mitigation devices (SC-CAMLR-XXIV, paragraphs 5.41i and ii). Observer reports were only received from four of nine trawl vessels in Area 48 in 2005 and this level of observer coverage was considered insufficient to estimate the total seal mortality in the fishery. WG-IMAF again recommended 100% coverage on all krill trawl vessels. One fur seal was captured in each of 2006 and 2007, although the level of observer coverage remained less than 100%. The Scientific Committee stressed the continued need for monitoring of incidental mortalities and for an improved reporting process on the use of mitigation devices within the trawl fishery in order to document which measures were successful (SC-CAMLR-XXVI, paragraph 5.13).

In 2008, six seal mortalities were observed in Subarea 48.3 and the Scientific Committee suggested the krill fishery notification pro forma should be amended to include specific information on gear configurations such as mesh size, net opening, presence and design of mammal exclusion devices (SC-CAMLR-XXVII, paragraph 4.11). The Commission agreed to amend the general mitigation provisions in Conservation Measure 25-03 to introduce the mandatory use of mammal exclusion devices on trawls in the krill fisheries in Area 48 (Conservation Measure 51-01) and Divisions 58.4.1 (Conservation Measure 51-02) and 58.4.2 (Conservation Measure 51-03). These Conservation Measures were adopted by the Commission and are still in force.

Since 2010, there were, notably, 19 mortalities of Antarctic fur seals (A. gazella) in 2018 (Table 7) which occurred on the same vessel as a result of a malfunction in the mammal exclusion devices (or SED); once the issue was identified and rectified there were no further seal mortalities on that vessel. In 2020, a total of 16 fur seal mortalities were recorded, although unlike in 2018, these were recorded across five vessels with no single cause for the entanglements identified.

In 2021, three humpback whales (M. novaeangliae) were recorded as bycatch in krill trawls (the first recorded cetacean mortalities observed in the krill fishery) in Subareas 48.1 and 48.2 (SC-CAMLR-40, paragraphs 3.113 to 3.136), noting that many of the bird mortalities reported in that year were associated with the hauls that caught whales due to entanglements with the net. The Scientific Committee reconvened the Working Group on Incidental Mortality Associated with Fishing (WG-IMAF) to better understand and mitigate any issues contributing to humpback whale and seal by-catch in the krill fishery (CCAMLR-40, paragraph 6.47).

Table 7. Number of reported mammal mortalities in this fishery since 2010 in each Subarea.
Season Megaptera novaeangliae Otariidae, Phocidae Arctocephalus gazella
Subarea 48.1
2011 1
2021 2
Subarea 48.2
2021 1 1
Subarea 48.3
2016 2 1
2018 19
2019 1
2020 16


2.4. Estimation of krill green weight

At its meeting in 2008, the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG-EMM) considered how the actual catches of krill are reported as the mass of product multiplied by a conversion factor to estimate the ‘green weight’ and expressed its concern over the inconsistency in the way the amount of krill removed from the ecosystem may be recorded. Given the different on-board processing methods used by vessels, and the resulting range of conversion factors used in the krill fishery, the need to have clarity on how the estimates of green weight are derived is important to accurately determine the true biomass of krill removed from the ecosystem. Conversion factors were reported from some vessels, either as pre-determined product-specific values or varying according to ongoing evaluation on the vessel.

In 2011, the Scientific Committee noted that there were several sources of uncertainty in estimating the green weight of krill that required further investigation (SC-CAMLR-XXX, paragraph 3.15). In order to progress analyses of uncertainty in green weight, the specific details of the method used for estimating catch on all krill vessels was included in the notification process and made a reporting requirement during fishing activities.


3. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing for krill has not been reported to date.


4. Data collection

4.1. Data collection requirements

The implementation of the CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation (SISO) in the krill fishery has been the subject of extensive discussion in the Scientific Committee and Commission meetings (see WG-EMM-14/58, Annex 1). The development of a program for systematic observer coverage in the krill fishery was first implemented in 2010 (Conservation Measure 51-06). In 2016, the Commission agreed to revise Conservation Measure 51-06 to introduce a phased increase in the required observer coverage in the krill fishery to achieve a target coverage rate of no less than 50% of vessels during the 2017 and 2018 fishing seasons; no less than 75% of vessels during the 2019 and 2020 fishing seasons; and 100% coverage in subsequent fishing seasons.

The Scientific Committee agreed that, to provide a measure of the availability of observer data, observer coverage in the krill fishery should be defined as the number of days when an observer was on a krill fishing vessel as a percentage of the days fished. Since 2010 observer coverage has increased over time with some Subareas routinely achieving 100% observer coverage (Table 8).

Table 8. Percent observer coverage, calculated as the total number of days with an observer on board a krill fishing vessel as a percentage of the total number of days fished by all vessels, in Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 since 2006.
Subarea
Season 48.1 48.2 48.3
2006 16 0 47
2007 17 36 31
2008 84 36 36
2009 10 54 100
2010 64 86 100
2011 81 76 96
2012 84 65 100
2013 96 83 71
2014 97 95 100
2015 89 92 100
2016 100 100 100
2017 65 87 100
2018 98 96 100
2019 100 100 100
2020 98 98 100
2021 100 99 100


The increase in scientific observer data available from the krill fishery has provided a basis for greater specification of sampling requirements, including those on the length, sex and maturity stage of krill, fish by-catch and the collection of acoustic data on krill.

4.2. Summary of available data

Both the vessel’s crew and observers collect by-catch information. The vessel’s crew report total catch of by-catch by coarse taxonomic groups given their limited ability to discriminate similar species. Observers collect biological information on krill and by-catch specimens at a finer taxonomic resolution, as well as data on individual specimens such as size and maturity.

Summaries of data recently reported to CCAMLR are given in Tables 9 and 10. Since the vessel’s crew record by-catch on all hauls while observers inspect sub-samples of random hauls, the crew tends to identify more taxa than observers (Table 9). In 2021, in Subarea 48.3 (Table 9), catches were negligible and no catch was recorded or processed by the vessel’s crew. Krill biological and by-catch data was recorded by the observer from the small amounts of krill collected from the net and deck after test hauls. The small amounts of catch were discarded after hauling was complete.

Table 9. Summary of by-catch and biological data reported by vessels crew and observers (from 25kg random sub-samples of the catch) in each of the last five seasons, per Subarea. By-catch records correspond to the number of observations of total weight and count of individuals for each taxon identified. Observers also measure the length of each krill specimen and some by-catch specimens, and, in most cases determine krill maturity stage and sex. Taxonomic identification may occur at different levels.
Data source Data class Variable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Subarea 48.1
Vessel crew by-catch taxa identified 59 46 43 39 51
records 9502 3215 2224 2509 6448
Observer Antarctic krill specimens examined 59402 121400 92277 121590 134778
by-catch taxa identified 34 46 43 33 42
records 1033 1406 1808 1938 1148
length measurements 2908 6288 7428 13356 2089
Subarea 48.2
Vessel crew by-catch taxa identified 37 42 30 43 68
records 532 907 1471 2339 4785
Observer Antarctic krill specimens examined 9701 37928 67736 154010 77941
by-catch taxa identified 25 32 26 37 59
records 95 331 790 1458 2402
length measurements 441 657 2951 7236 5195
Subarea 48.3
Vessel crew by-catch taxa identified 12 25 28 44 0
records 252 428 327 1068 0
Observer Antarctic krill specimens examined 10800 31400 30800 31800 400
by-catch taxa identified 12 23 19 35 14
records 186 356 386 1973 25
length measurements 1285 1856 926 6656 39
Table 10. Summary of by-catch and biological data for predominant by-catch groups reported by observers (from 25kg random sub-samples of the catch) in each of the last five seasons, per Subarea. By-catch records correspond to the number of observations of total weight and count of individuals for each taxon identified. Observers also measure the length of some specimens. Taxonomic identification may occur at different levels.
By-catch group Variable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Subarea 48.1
Icefish taxa identified 11 13 12 11 14
records 469 650 469 669 701
length measurements 801 1894 1717 1462 1312
Other fish taxa identified 29 35 35 27 35
records 777 1310 1076 860 1006
length measurements 2908 6253 4955 1769 2044
Salps taxa identified 1 1 1 1 1
records 151 48 678 943 76
length measurements 0 5 2447 11549 41
Subarea 48.2
Icefish taxa identified 8 10 7 8 12
records 40 180 369 374 859
length measurements 343 494 1527 1548 4239
Other fish taxa identified 22 26 19 28 45
records 91 258 519 638 1282
length measurements 437 646 2026 2345 5153
Salps taxa identified 1 1 1 1 1
records 1 21 56 718 170
length measurements 0 0 2 4834 25
Subarea 48.3
Icefish taxa identified 2 5 2 3 0
records 8 91 3 49 0
length measurements 13 394 3 102 0
Other fish taxa identified 10 19 9 23 6
records 149 327 140 1017 8
length measurements 1276 1855 923 6643 39
Salps taxa identified 0 1 1 1 1
records 0 4 91 152 2
length measurements 0 0 0 0 0

4.3. Length frequency distributions

The length frequency distributions of krill reported by observers in Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 for recent fishing seasons show interannual variability among seasons and areas (Fig. 6).


Figure 6. Recent annual length frequency distributions of krill in Area 48 (top panel) and in Subareas 48.1 (PA, N and S see Fig. 4), 48.2 and 48.3 (lower panels). The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each year are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure 6. Recent annual length frequency distributions of krill in Area 48 (top panel) and in Subareas 48.1 (PA, N and S see Fig. 4), 48.2 and 48.3 (lower panels). The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each year are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Analyses of the factors influencing variability in the length frequency distributions of krill collected by observers identified the greatest source of variability to be the timing and location of sampling (rather than a gear or vessel effect). Based on these analyses, the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG-EMM) recommended in 2015 that the observer data length frequency distributions could be aggregated by Subarea and month, with the additional recommendation that, in the case of Subarea 48.1, the length frequency distributions were further aggregated for areas to the north and south of the South Shetland Islands (Fig. 6).

The length frequency distributions by month and Subarea for the most recent complete season, 2020, are shown in Figure 7 and for all data available for 2021, are shown in Figure 8. The monthly length frequency distributions by Subarea for fishing seasons ranging from 2011 to 2019 are provided in Appendix 1.


Figure 7. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2020. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a Subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure 7. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2020. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a Subarea are indicated by the letter F.


Figure 8. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2021. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a Subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure 8. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2021. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a Subarea are indicated by the letter F.

5. Ecosystem implications and effects

Recognition of the central role of krill in the ecosystem is at the core of the approach taken by CCAMLR in the management of the krill fishery. One element of this, the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP), was established in 1985 to detect changes in the krill-based ecosystem to provide a basis for regulating harvesting of Antarctic marine living resources in accordance with the ‘ecosystem approach’. The program aims to:

  • Detect and record significant changes in critical components of the ecosystem, to serve as a basis for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources

  • Distinguish between changes due to the harvesting of commercial species and changes due to environmental variability, both physical and biological.

Further information and analysis on CEMP can be found in WG-EMM-16/08, WG-EMM-16/09 and WG-EMM-16/10.

The CEMP Combined Standardised Index (CSI) approach combines multiple CEMP parameters into a single index to monitor changes in krill predator performance. The CSIs include data from the CEMP parameters that reflect the conditions experienced by predators during the breeding season only (e.g., foraging performance and breeding success); they do not include multi-year parameters such as breeding population size (Reid et al., 2005).

The latest CSI time series for Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3 are shown below (Figs. 9-11).

Figure 9. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Admiralty Bay, Cape Shirreff, Esperanza Station, Lions Rump and Stranger Point Station for Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins, and fur seals in Subarea 48.1.

Figure 9. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Admiralty Bay, Cape Shirreff, Esperanza Station, Lions Rump and Stranger Point Station for Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins, and fur seals in Subarea 48.1.


Figure 10. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Laurie Island and Signy Island for Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins in Subarea 48.2.

Figure 10. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Laurie Island and Signy Island for Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins in Subarea 48.2.


Figure 11. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Bird Island and Maiviken for macaroni and gentoo penguins, southern black browed albatross, and fur seals in Subarea 48.3.

Figure 11. Combined Standardised Index time series from CEMP parameters collected at Bird Island and Maiviken for macaroni and gentoo penguins, southern black browed albatross, and fur seals in Subarea 48.3.


6. Stock status

Details on CCAMLR’s approach to managing the krill fishery are given in this document.


7. Climate Change and environmental variability

A recent summary of the potential impacts of climate change on Southern Ocean fisheries (FAO 2018) highlights the following key points:

The Antarctic region is characterized by complex interaction of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change that produce high levels of variability in both physical and biological systems, including impacts on key fishery taxa such as Antarctic krill.

The impact of anthropogenic climate change in the short-term could be expected to be related to changes in sea ice and physical access to fishing grounds, whereas longer-term implications are likely to include changes in ecosystem productivity affecting target stocks.

There are no resident human populations or fishery-dependent livelihoods in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Area, therefore climate change will have limited direct implications for regional food security. However, as an “under-exploited” fishery, there is potential for krill to play a role in global food security in the longer term.

The institutional and management approach taken by CCAMLR, including the ecosystem-based approach, the establishment of large marine protected areas, and scientific monitoring programmes, provides measures of resilience to climate change.

There is no formal evaluation of the impacts of climate Change and environmental variability available for this particular fishery.


References

Budzinski, E., P. Bykowski and D. Dutkiewicz. 1985. Possibilities of processing and marketing of products made from Antarctic krill. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap., 268. FAO, Rome: 46 pp.

Priddle, J., J.P. Croxall, I. Everson, R.B. Heywood, E.J. Murphy, P.A. Prince and C.B. Sear. 1988. Large-scale fluctuations in distribution and abundance of krill - a discussion of possible causes. In: Sahrhage, D. (Ed.). Antarctic Ocean and Resources Variability. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg: 169-182.

Reid, K., J.P. Croxall, D.R. Briggs, and E.J. Murphy. 2005. Antarctic ecosystem monitoring: quantifying the response of ecosystem indicators to variability in Antarctic krill. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 62:366-373.

Trathan, P.N., J.L. Watkins, A.W.A. Murray, A.S. Brierley, I. Everson, C. Goss, J. Priddle, K. Reid, P. Ward, R. Hewitt, D. Demer, M. Naganobu, S. Kawaguchi, V. Sushin, S.M. Kasatkina, S. Hedley, S. Kim and T. Pauly. 2001. The CCAMLR-2000 Krill Synoptic Survey: a description of the rationale and design. CCAMLR Science, 8: 1-24.

Additional Resources

Appendix

Figure A1. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2011. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A1. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2011. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A2. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2012. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A2. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2012. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A3. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2013. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A3. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2013. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A4. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2014. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A4. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2014. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A5. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2015. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A5. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2015. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A6. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2016. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A6. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2016. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A7. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2017. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A7. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2017. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A8. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2018. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Figure A8. Monthly length frequency distributions for krill in Subareas 48.1 (including PA, N and S), 48.2 and 48.3 in 2018. The number of hauls from which krill were measured (N) and the number of individuals measured (n) in each month are provided; the months in which fishing occurred in a subarea are indicated by the letter F.

Table A1. Annual catch (tonnes) of krill from Small-Scale Management Units (SSMUs; see Fig. 4) in Area 48 reported since 1994. More than 95 percent of catches can be allocated to SSMUs based on haul by haul location reporting. A blank cell indicates that there was no fishing, a 0 indicates that fishing occurred but that there was a catch of less than 0.5 tonnes.
Subarea 48.1
Subarea 48.2
Subarea 48.3
Season APPA APW APDPW APDPE APEI APBSW APBSE APE SOPA SOW SONE SOSE SGPA SGW SGE
1994 5 4 26564 722 17659 146 4 17806 103 1347 381 11 19906
1995 6256 13844 2646 15030 388 51 47509 1273 72 287 40461
1996 5828 37685 4191 12727 1331 25 10 2118 3 15 5191 22657
1997 806 23045 15354 9096 180 22 8 91 106 26601
1998 3340 2858 23888 17955 5766 1594 259 6151 304 14 3797 22722
1999 2593 3868 11382 10810 8880 41 925 605 45902 3429 12513
2000 274 108 35166 19943 11412 7110 2972 3152 11150 1133 1496 6310 1984 11052
2001 5 683 24449 18218 4609 3600 759 1115 22 3861 10963 24768
2002 138 3 4853 1405 3914 330 57 53 51086 2941 893 2842 8889 28180
2003 47 58 29772 1504 961 336 16 547 16286 59 48 782 13966 51411
2004 349 248 5104 1467 6172 404 1900 299 47101 782 10 151 33168 22824
2005 9 5039 1966 38 44 52 70090 2033 87 22 307 48131
2006 40 41504 10133 2190 13375 23326 2893 185 33 8235 6665
2007 29 4 12154 2079 1184 502 19 10 64598 3413 6 3263 17468
2008 218 113 2251 88615 178 11 35277 22352
2009 1500 3327 1637 3883 635 20087 3049 1648 89066 875 0
2010 67 5999 17290 8797 1772 85514 34891 1279 48921 74 218 8834
2011 392 10 649 7975 15 59 115 490 111472 3836 196 2671 53130
2012 11 16949 20460 4901 73 28422 5007 43 28789 166 6197 50218
2013 83 13477 3801 7725 257 109155 18756 34 30539 4 3439 28782
2014 113 6712 19729 7374 676 49589 62245 69962 2492 75252
2015 36267 347 3131 5618 71007 37807 8 14282 2811 54354
2016 13 37789 10 5052 625 37137 73816 33848 436 17 218 71189
2017 60 18290 14846 2542 73842 39752 2 64307 4738 6441 12117
2018 12 22198 626 8673 511 75665 43992 2 132871 5006 11 23163
2019 0 206 1146 6999 1966 104643 40836 151157 11413 3 71799
2020 7 35031 938 25 27217 93862 3811 158569 16002 1044 114274
2021 8644 190 1117 73 87740 64008 2991 147663 58814 286