Media release – Bob Brown Foundations (BBF), 10 March 2023

Bob Brown Foundation and Sea Shepherd Global encounter supertrawler fleet trawling amidst over 100 fin whales in Antarctica

Two supertrawlers have been documented trawling right through a megapod of over 100 fin whales, who are listed as vulnerable, whilst fishing for krill off the South Orkneys in Antarctica.

The shocking footage was recorded as part of a new collaborative campaign between the Bob Brown Foundation and Sea Shepherd Global.

Hobart-based Alistair Allan, the Bob Brown Foundations (BBF) Antarctic and Marine Campaigner, joined the voyage as part of the Foundations ongoing campaign to ban krill fishing in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

The Bob Brown Foundation and Sea Shepherd Global have a long history of working together to successfully shut down whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean that forms the bedrock of the entire Antarctic ecosystem, is the primary food source for baleen whales and penguins, with most marine life in Antarctica either directly dependent on krill as food source or no more than one step or two steps removed.

The voyage focuses on the heavily concentrated fishing of krill around the South Orkney Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. This concentrated fishing effort is having a serious impact on the Antarctic ecosystem, especially penguins, seals, and whales, as they compete with these supertrawlers for their food source.

The campaign comes at a time where scientists are increasingly raising the alarm over the impact of the krill fishery. A recent Stanford University study revealed four large fishing vessels trawling through a supergroup of over 1,000 fin whales chasing the same krill, illustrating the growing conflict between whales and the fishery.

Upon arriving at the South Orkney islands, the mission has already had both Chinese vessels, the Shen Lan, and the Long Fa, immediately recover their fishing gear and began to run from the fishing grounds.

The mission also has already documented the intense conflict between whales and these trawlers as both the Antarctic Endeavour and the Sejong were seen trawling through a group of over 100 fin whales.

Norwegian company Aker BioMarine, the largest krill fleet operator, responsible for 60% of the global catch, were also in the South Orkneys and sighted fishing amongst penguins and whales.

“The two supertrawlers made no effort to avoid the megapod of vulnerable fin whales, in fact it looked as if they deliberately trawled through them, knowing that where there is whales, there is krill” said Alistair Allan, BBF Antarctic campaigner.

“This shows that incidents like the one published in the Stanford University study, are not isolated events. There is a huge and growing conflict between whales and supertrawlers in the Antarctic.”

“Krill is the foundation of the of the Antarctic ecosystem. They deserve total protection, not supertrawlers hoovering them out of the ocean.”

“Arriving at the krill fishing grounds there has been abundant amounts of penguins and whales, it’s terrible to see these animals competing with 130-metre long supertrawlers for their food.”

“Unbelievably, krill is caught for products we do not need. It is used for fish farm feed to make fish flesh pink, pet food, and supposed health products. It does nothing to contribute to global food security. It’s a crime against nature.”

“With a rapidly warming Southern Ocean, it Is predicted that krill hatch rates may reduce by as much as 50% by the year 2100. That’s a 50% loss of the species that all the whales, seals, and penguins we love, rely on to survive. It’s time to ban krill fishing in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.”

“The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), headquartered in Hobart, should act immediately to outlaw this destructive industry before whole Antarctic ecosystems begin to collapse,” said Dr Bob Brown

Media release – Sea Shepherd, 10 March 2023

Sea Shepherd Films Super Trawlers Stealing Food from Mega Pod of Over One Hundred Fin Whales in Antarctica

On Monday Sea Shepherd Global filmed two super trawlers with their massive nets deployed plowing through a mega pod of over one hundred fin whales as they fed on krill off the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica.

“The two super trawlers made no effort to change course. It even appeared as if they deliberately steered toward the spouting megapod, knowing that where there are whales, there must be krill,” said Captain Peter Hammarstedt from on board Sea Shepherd Global’s newest vessel Allankay.

Another two super trawlers immediately hauled their nets and fled the scene when Allankay arrived.

The shocking footage was captured on the first day of Sea Shepherd Global arriving in the Southern Ocean for our latest campaign. Operation Antarctica Defense is a mission to tackle the greatest ecological threat to the Antarctic ecosystem by monitoring the fishing activity of a growing fleet of trawlers targeting vital krill populations.

Krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean that forms the bedrock of the entire Antarctic ecosystem, is the primary food source for baleen whales and penguins, with most marine life either directly dependent on krill as food source or no more than one step removed.

With the international decline in whaling—including Sea Shepherd Global driving the last whalers out of the Southern Oceans in 2018—the krill fishery has taken its place, with 12-14 industrial trawlers targeting not whales directly, but instead the keystone species they depend on for survival.

“We are seeing sharp declines in humpback whale pregnancies, a decrease in the body mass of fur seals and a plummeting of chinstrap penguin populations. All three species depend on krill as a primary food source. All while climate change has reduced both the amount and duration of the sea ice that krill need to survive,” said Hammarstedt.

The deadly impact on whales is not just indirect. In 2021, the deaths of three whales—in three separate events—were documented in krill trawl nets, highlighting the growing conflict between fishing vessel operators and whales chasing the same krill.

Three weeks ago, Ecology magazine published a Stanford University study that revealed four large fishing vessels trawling through a super group of over 1,000 fin whales for krill. The study concluded that this kind of competition between krill fishers and whales will only increase in the future. The recent footage from the South Orkney Islands proves that this fishing event was not an isolated incident.

Krill are being extracted out of the Southern Ocean primarily to produce krill meal, a feed additive in the aquaculture industry, but also, to churn out krill oil to mass produce Omega-3 dietary supplements. As a feed additive, the krill meal turns the otherwise grey flesh of captive salmon pink or red, mimicking their wild cousins.

Modern krill fishing vessels install a vacuum hose at the end of their trawl net so that the vessel can fish around the clock, while also ensuring that krill aren’t crushed to death as the net is otherwise hauled up on deck, a gruesome process that would result in the loss of precious oil pressed from their tiny bodies.

“It is an absurdity and a crime against nature that krill are being hoovered out of the remote Southern Oceans—by massive industrial vessels that have traveled halfway around the world to get there—just so that the linchpin species, on which the health of the entire ecosystem depends, can be sucked from the gaping mouths of hungry whales and penguins in order to turn farmed salmon pink,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic Campaigner with The Bob Brown Foundation.

The crew on board Allankay will be monitoring the fishery and its impact on whales, documenting its activities while mapping out the entire supply chain. Sea Shepherd Global has teamed up with the Australian Bob Brown Foundation, who will be investigating the krill fishing companies and how krill ends up on the shelves of Australian supermarkets and pharmacies as part of their “End Krill Fishing” campaign.