Antarctic krill fishing near penguin colonies
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Press and investigations AP via PBS NewsHour: Krill fishing concentrated in penguin areas. AP via PBS NewsHour
- Communities and civil society Sea Shepherd: 57% of the catch came from a single area and the rule CM 51-07 lapsed (summary). Sea Shepherd Australia
- Company or project Aker BioMarine: Krill biomass is 62.6 Mt and the catch is under 1% of it (summary). Aker BioMarine
Press reports say that in 2024 a rule spreading krill fishing across Antarctic areas lapsed and the catch concentrated near penguin colonies. The fishing industry says krill is healthy and the catch is under 1% of biomass.
NGO figure from a summary of its statement; not independently verified.
Status As of July 2025: record catch reported and fishing concentrated in penguin areas; no ruling or independent evaluation found.
- Krill fishing companies including Aker BioMarine — Fishing access Aker BioMarine
What happened
A July 2025 report distributed by AP and carried by PBS NewsHour said a record krill catch near Antarctica could trigger an early closure of the fishery, and that fishing had concentrated in areas used by penguins.
Conservation Measure 51-07, a rule that spread krill fishing across areas, was not renewed in 2024, according to a summary of Sea Shepherd's statement on the 2025 record catch. Sea Shepherd said 57% of the catch came from a single area.
Aker BioMarine, a krill-fishing company, published a 2019 survey summary giving krill biomass of 62.6 million tonnes and said the catch was under 1% of it. A later Mongabay report summary said the fishery closed months early in 2026 after reaching its limit for a second year; those figures come only.
- 2019Aker BioMarine survey summary: 62.6 million tonnes of krill, catch under 1% (company statement)
- 2024Spatial spreading rule CM 51-07 not renewed
- 2025Record catch reported; fishing concentrated in penguin areas (AP via PBS, July)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Krill fishing concentrated in penguin areas.
AP via PBS NewsHour57% of the catch came from a single area and the rule CM 51-07 lapsed (summary).
Sea Shepherd AustraliaKrill biomass is 62.6 Mt and the catch is under 1% of it (summary).
Aker BioMarineHow it looked
Shown
- Krill is healthy and the catch is under 1% of biomass (62.6 Mt)Aker BioMarine, 2019 · Aker BioMarine
Recorded
- Krill fishing concentrated in penguin areas; the spatial spreading rule lapsed in 2024.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Aker BioMarine (2019): Krill biomass is healthy at 62.6 Mt and the catch is under 1% of it. · Aker BioMarine
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
- Disputed Is krill fishing concentrating where it can harm penguins?
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Krill biomass tonnes: Aker BioMarine survey figure, as summarised.
- Insufficient Catch single area pct: Sea Shepherd, as summarised.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the fishery's 620,000-tonne limit was filled two years running and closed months early in 2026.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: one company took about 63% of the catch.
- None on record Effect of the fishing on penguin populations: no figure in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not shown in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Company or project
- New large-scale Antarctic krill survey confirms healthy krill biomassAker BioMarine · 2019
Press and investigations
- Record catch of krill near Antarctica could trigger early closure of fisheryAP via PBS NewsHour · 2025-07
Communities and civil society
- Record Antarctic krill catch red flagsSea Shepherd Australia · 2025
Connected cases
- Save the Whales campaign and IWC whaling moratorium Global · 1971
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: NGO critic of the record catch; there: Paid US$2.55 million to Japanese whaling bodies (2015)
- Thunder illegal fishing chase São Tomé and Príncipe · 2013–2018
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: NGO critic of the record catch; there: Pursued the vessel; source of the account of the chase and the earnings estimate
- Whaling after the moratorium (Japan, Norway, Iceland) Iceland · 1982–2026
- Sea Shepherd (NGO) — here: NGO critic of the record catch; there: Anti-whaling group; paid 2.55 million dollars to Japanese whaling bodies in 2015