Environmental groups have objected to the recommendation of a \u201cblue tick\u201d sustainability label being awarded to a Norwegian krill fishing giant, amid concerns over concentrated fishing pressure and dramatic climate-driven effects on the Antarctic\u2019s fragile ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Norway\u2019s Aker QRILL, the world\u2019s largest harvester of krill, a tiny crustacean<\/a> and keystone of Antarctica\u2019s fragile ecosystem, and its sister company, Aker BioMarine, produce feed additives for aquaculture and dietary supplements for pets and humans.<\/p>\n Their krill products have carried the \u201cblue tick\u201d label<\/a> operated by fishery certification scheme, the not-for-profit Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), since 2010.<\/p>\n Aker is undergoing a fresh evaluation of its eligibility of the blue tick scheme by a third party assessor.<\/p>\n Krill are a keystone species and the main food source for whales, penguins and seals. Photograph: Chris Gilbert\/British Antarctic Survey<\/p>\n Environmentalists say that since Aker was last certified as meeting MSC\u2019s standard for a \u201csustainable and well managed\u201d fishery in 2020, management of the entire Antarctic krill fishery has worsened, due to lapsed conservation measures.<\/p>\n Holly Curry, marine protected areas campaign director at the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (Asoc), a conservation charity, said: \u201cThe Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition opposes the recommendation to recertify the Antarctic krill fishery.\u201d<\/p>\n Rhona Kent, polar oceans programme manager at WWF-UK said: \u201cTo protect this extraordinary species and wider ecosystem, WWF is calling for an immediate moratorium on krill fishing and a review of the sustainability certification issued by the MSC until more precautionary fisheries management measures are agreed by CCAMLR.\u201d<\/p>\n CCAMLR is the Commission for the Conservation<\/a> of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, a body set up to protect the region from overexploitation.<\/p>\n In 2024, a key rule, or \u201cconservation measure\u201d to disperse the krill catch across a number of areas of the Southern Ocean to avoid local depletion, lapsed, due to political deadlock. China and Russia, two CCAMLR nations, blocked the renewal of an agreement<\/a> restricting krill fishing in 2024. In 2025, countries once again failed to reach consensus on conservation measures.<\/p>\n This raised concerns over local depletions of krill, the main food source for whales, penguins and seals, in key feeding grounds.<\/p>\n Last year, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey warned<\/a> that climate driven extreme changes in Antarctica are happening faster than expected and that consequentially, crucial populations of krill, also an important climate buffer, are under increased threat.<\/p>\n As a result, Asoc and the WWF object to any MSC recertification of Aker\u2019s fishery. Asoc has written to the third party evaluators and the MSC claiming that the current assessment disregards the deepening climate concerns and lapsed conservation measure.<\/p>\n