Despite the availability of plant-based alternatives, the krill fishery remains focused on producing Omega-3 health-food supplements, as well as supplying additives for farmed salmon and pet food.

“Supertrawlers dragging nets large enough to swallow a jumbo jet are taking the food of whales, seals, and penguins from one of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems so it can be fed to dogs and cats at home,” said Peter Hammarstedt, Sea Shepherd Global's Director of Campaigns.

Krill are a keystone species in the Southern Ocean, converting sunlight captured by phytoplankton into energy that sustains whales, penguins, seals, and countless other species. When krill populations decline, the entire Antarctic ecosystem is destabilized. Scientific evidence suggests that krill densities around the Antarctic Peninsula—where much of the fishing occurs—may have dropped by up to 80% since the 1970s.

Last year, a critical conservation measure requiring the krill catch limit to be spread out over a wider geographical area, and aimed at reducing the risk of local depletion, was not renewed at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the international regulatory authority that manages the fishery.

The Antarctic krill fishery’s unprecedented early closure before the end of last year’s season is believed to have occurred because the distribution of fishing effort is no longer required. Without the move-on clause, the environmental impact of the krill fishery is more concentrated than ever before as the entire take of krill can be netted from a single area, usually in whale, seal, and penguin feeding grounds.

The situation is further compounded by a decision at last month’s CCAMLR meeting to authorize the People’s Republic of China to license a newly constructed 15,255-ton, 138-meter krill supertrawler, which will become the largest industrialized fishing vessel operating in the Antarctic in the upcoming season.

With Antarctic protections weakening and the krill supertrawler fleet growing, Sea Shepherd is mounting its fourth consecutive expedition to the Southern Ocean to confront the fleet. The Sea Shepherd vessel Allankay is scheduled to arrive at the beginning of the new year.

For the past three years, Sea Shepherd has carried out annual expeditions to document the escalating conflict between whales and supertrawlers. Journalists and filmmakers—from The Associated Press to Ocean with David Attenborough—have joined these voyages and their reporting has exposed the risks posed by concentrated industrial fishing in a proposed marine protected area, increasing pressure on CCAMLR to adopt long-delayed safeguards, including the creation of the Antarctic Peninsula Marine Protected Area.

The Allankay has also hosted an independent research team led by Dr. Matthew S. Savoca of Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. Their studies have deepened scientific understanding of interactions between whales and industrial fishing vessels, while also underscoring the ecological importance of the region. Dr. Savoca was among the first to identify that whales and supertrawlers are competing for the same dense krill aggregations, noting that the current krill biomass may not be adequate to support both the expanding fishery and the continued recovery of whale populations after the end of commercial whaling.

This combination of evidence gathered at sea and sustained advocacy on land has begun to shift market forces. Following discussions with Sea Shepherd, UK-based health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett announced that it will remove all krill products from its entire range. It is the first major retailer in the United Kingdom to do so.

Sea Shepherd has over two decades of experience successfully protecting Antarctic wildlife, from physically blocking illegal whaling ships to pursuing toothfish poachers and seizing their unlawful gear.

The 2026 campaign to the Southern Ocean sees Sea Shepherd Global partnering and co-leading the expedition with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Recognizing that the protection of Antarctica and its marine ecosystem affect us all, the mission is also supported by Sea Shepherd Germany, Sea Shepherd Switzerland, and all countries that are part of the global movement.

For more information: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/our-campaigns/antarctica-defense/