This small shrimp-like organism may weigh little more than a large paper clip, but its crucial role in the icy Antarctic ecosystem is indisputable.

The Latest...

• AKCP representatives at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM)
  AKCP representatives are currently attending the 31st annual ATCM in Kiev, Ukraine.  Read more about the papers our partners at the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition have submitted and the reports they are producing as the meeting progresses.
  
  

• Krill Industry Report
  The Krill Industry Report provides information and commentaries on the Antarctic krill industry including krill oil, nutricueticals, and krill products used for farmed fish feed. Latest issue: May, 2008



• Conference Urged to Protect Krill, the Primary Food Source for Antarctic Penguins, Whales and Seals
  At the 26th annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources' (CCAMLR), in November 2007, representatives from the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project sought to bring the observation and management of the krill fishery into closer parity with all other Southern Ocean fisheries. Read more about the important outcomes concerning krill at CCAMLR.



• Factsheet: Climate Change, Antarctica, and Krill
  Rapidly melting ice shelves in Antarctica threaten krill which are heavily dependent on sea ice. The ice provides both protection from predators and a habitat for algae that krill feed upon. Warming of the Antarctic and intensified commercial fishing for krill, will have a profound effect both on this keystone species and on its many predators. Click here for the Japanese translation.




• Ecosystem-Based Management of the Antarctic Krill Fishery To Protect Penguins and Other Krill Predators
  Read a brochure [PDF] about krill's central role in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and how further steps in ecosystem-based management are needed to protect penguins and other Antarctic species.

News Archive

Our Last Great Wilderness Is In Danger

Antarctica is the last great wilderness and home to exceptional concentrations of wildlife, including penguins, whales, seals and albatrosses. Though small in stature, krill's role in the region's ecosystem is enormous. "Krill are the glue that binds the Antarctic food web," serving as the principal food source for predator species that live there. Increasing interest in krill as fish food for industrially farmed fish, and for its high-value oils used in nutritional supplements, is triggering an expansion of the fishery that could outpace efforts to protect predators that depend on krill.

In addition, krill populations are very vulnerable to climate change, which risks profound impacts for Antarctica. With an agreed statement of principles and core goals to guide its work, the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project has enumerated core elements of an ecosystem-based management package [PDF] that are needed for the Antarctic krill fishery. Looking to the future, without these and other reforms, we risk irreversible harm to this unique and wonderful wilderness.

Antarctic Krill Conservation Project

This network of international organizations is dedicated to the protection of Antarctic krill to help conserve the region's marine ecosystem and living resources. It is a cooperative effort worldwide, working with CCAMLR nations, scientists and other key stakeholders. Please join us as we seek to protect this small, but vital species.