Chinese trawlers prepare to sail to the Southern Ocean to harvest krill, shrimp-like organisms are an essential link in the Antarctic food-chain as a food source for penguins, seals and many species of whales. Media report states that China is planning an expedition as part of a five-year exploration programme to investigate the potential of krill to boost its fish-farming industry.
As per the warning by conservationists the depletion of the food stock poses a threat to the Antarctic ecosystem. Willie Mackenzie, a Greenpeace spokesperson, said that the project is “just wrong” as Krill is the basis of the Antarctic food web. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation warned last year that 80 percent of commercial fish stocks in the World were either being fished at maximum level or being over-exploited.
The controversy follows recent criticism of the Marine Stewardship Council which has certified the krill fishing of Norwegian company Aker BioMarine as environmentally sustainable. Gerald Leape of the Pew Environment Trust said that the council “ignored irrefutable evidence” of threats to the Antarctic ecosystem in granting certification.
