Protesters gathered outside the Melbourne headquarters of Swisse today, urging the vitamin giant to cease its production of krill oil supplements. Krill are small crustaceans that serve as the critical foundation of the Antarctic food web, sustaining populations of whales, seals and penguins.
Conservationists argue that industrial harvesting by supertrawlers threatens this fragile ecosystem, citing recent data on whale entanglements and declining wildlife numbers.
Media Release – Bob Brown Foundation, 15 December 2025
Protest outside Swisse headquarters in Melbourne demands company stop plundering Antarctica for profit
Today, protesters have gathered in Melbourne at the headquarters of vitamin giant Swisse, demanding that it stop selling krill oil supplements. Krill is the foundation of the Antarctic ecosystem, and Swisse sources its krill from industrial supertrawlers that are destroying Antarctica.
The impacts of krill fishing include whale deaths and entanglements, declining penguin populations and failing pregnancy rates in humpback whales.
Bob Brown Foundation is calling on Swisse to stop contributing to the destruction of Antarctica, to cease producing krill oil, and to become an Antarctic protector instead.
“Swisse is a certified B Corp, yet they are plundering Antarctica to make products that are unnecessary and have alternatives,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine Campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.
“Krill is the foundation of the Antarctic wilderness, upon which whales, penguins and seals all rely on to survive but Swisse is putting them at risk for profit. Swisse is a well-known brand and I think the public will be horrified to learn that they take part in such a destructive fishery in Antarctica. Six whales have been killed in the nets of krill trawlers in just a few years.”
“Swisse can and should do the right thing and stop selling krill oil. They can be Antarctic protectors instead of Antarctic destroyers,” said Allan.
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