Problems with krill harvesting in general were most recently highlighted in David Attenborough\u2019s Oceans documentary<\/a>.<\/p>\n It highlighted that some commercial vessels are targeting fisheries integral to the survival of seals, penguins, seabirds and whales.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Bob Brown Foundation has paid for billboards be be plastered across Melbourne and Sydney as part of its new Swissekrills campaign, which targets the industry.<\/p>\n The charity\u2019s marine campaigner, Alistair Allan, said the launch occurred after Swisse allegedly ignored requests to discuss its concerns, so now it’s publicly encouraging the company to stop selling krill oil, and to promote consumer awareness.<\/p>\n Describing krill fishing as an \u201cenvironmental crime\u201d, Allan accused Swisse of \u201cdoing nothing\u201d to inform consumers about the impact that krill harvesting is having on the environment.<\/p>\n He noted global retailer Holland & Barrett, has agreed to stop selling krill oil products<\/a> in stores across Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe krill<\/a> that is used to make Swisse’s product is literally taken from the mouths of penguins and whales in Antarctica who rely on it to survive,\u201d Allan said.<\/p>\n Swisse responds to krill oil campaign<\/p>\n Swisse\u2019s krill is sourced from Europe\u2019s Aker BioMarine, the world\u2019s largest harvester. In a statement, the company\u2019s chief supply chain officer, Christian Sim, confirmed it was aware of Bob Brown Foundation \u201cdirectly targeting\u201d Swisse and that he believes its ultimate goal is to end all krill fishing.<\/p>\n Swisse claims its krill oil can provide mild improvement in symptoms of mild to moderate osteoarthritis and has been linked to supporting cardiovascular health. Source: Getty\/Yahoo<\/p>\n Responding to the campaign, Sim said Swisse was \u201ccommitted to sourcing high-quality, sustainably-sourced ingredients for products that support the health needs of our consumers\u201d. He noted its Chinese-owned parent company, Health and Happiness Group, is B-Corp certified<\/a>, a scheme that allows companies to use its trademark if they meet its standards for social and environmental impact.<\/p>\n The krill oil used by the company is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)<\/a> certified, which Sim said \u201cadheres to fishing practices that ensure the long-term sustainability of the Antarctic Krill Fishery\u201d.<\/p>\n However, MSC\u2019s ongoing certification of the krill fishery is not assured. And there are wider concerns about the ongoing sustainability of the industry in Antarctica.<\/p>\n WWF calls for moratorium on Antarctic krill fishing<\/p>\n Krill fishing in Antarctica is capped at 1 per cent of the fishery\u2019s total biomass, and this year that limit was reached in August, forcing it to close early for the first time in history.<\/p>\n The fulfilment of the quota has been linked to the 2024 lapsing of a key protection measure set 16 years ago by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). It had compelled trawlers to harvest their catch from a spatially distributed area to ensure key pockets of ocean weren\u2019t destocked, rather than saving time and money by concentrating their efforts on a small area.<\/p>\n WWF-Australia is concerned that krill is being denuded from areas where biodiversity is abundant. Source: Getty<\/p>\n World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia\u2019s ocean conservation manager Emily Grilly told Yahoo News the problem with overfishing these \u201chotspots\u201d is that they\u2019re also the areas with the highest biodiversity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whales, penguins, seals, and seabirds that rely on krill to eat and survive they’re also in those areas, and they’re competing with fishing vessels. And that’s the problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It had been hoped the issue of overfishing these areas would be resolved at the CCAMLR annual meeting in Hobart a week ago. When it wasn\u2019t, WWF-Australia called for a moratorium on Antarctic krill harvesting.<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies that use krill have a responsibility to know how their products are being sourced, harvested, or extracted, and when there are significant changes to management \u2014 like what we saw in 2024 with significant removals of protection \u2014 it\u2019s their responsibility to modify how they are sourcing their products,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n This diagram highlights how krill supports the Antarctic food web. Source: MSC<\/p>\n Could the fishery lose its MSC certification?<\/p>\n MSC has recognised that the management of krill fisheries needs to keep evolving, and it is encouraging improvements to spatial management to ensure krill are available to wildlife in areas where they need it most.<\/p>\n Its program director for Oceania, Anne Gabriel, told Yahoo News its blue tick gives consumers \u201cconfidence\u201d that the seafood they\u2019re purchasing comes from a fishery independently audited to meet its environmental standards. Once a fishery is certified, it is subject to annual checks.<\/p>\n \u201cMSC takes the management of krill very seriously, with additional requirements for fisheries targeting the stock; auditors have given krill fisheries certified to the MSC standard five years to address the ecological risk of localised depletion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFailure to meet this condition by 2026 could result in suspension from the MSC program.\u201d<\/p>\n Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? \ud83d\udc0a\ud83e\udd98\ud83d\ude33 Get our new newsletter<\/a> showcasing the week\u2019s best stories.<\/p>\n![\"Left:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/22a70df0-bad1-11f0-bfef-72df97b30bab.jpeg\"\/)
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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australians are being urged by conservationists to boycott a popular supplement sold by wellness company Swisse. Its active…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[146928,9348,146926,146924,146929,97,146925,146927,269,146923],"class_list":{"0":"post-276148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-alistair-allan","9":"tag-antarctica","10":"tag-biodiversity-hotspots","11":"tag-bob-brown-foundation","12":"tag-christian-sim","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-krill-fishing","15":"tag-krill-oil","16":"tag-nutrition","17":"tag-swisse"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}