Food stolen from whales and penguins: Krill record fishing stop (which ends up in our supplements)

That capsule of Omega 3 that we keep on the bathroom cabinet or the special croquettes for our pet could have a hidden and very high cost, paid thousands of kilometers away. A cost that, for the first time in history, has pushed international authorities to a drastic gesture: from 1 August 2025, Krill fishing in the Antarctic Ocean has been closed as a precaution. An unprecedented decision, urgently taken after the industrial fleets have reached the maximum annual capture fee, set at 620,000 tons in just seven months.

But what happened in the most remote and cold waters on the planet? It is not an unexpected abundance of this small shrimp, theEuphasia Superbabut of the result of an increasingly aggressive and, above all, concentrated industrial fishing. Krill is the basis of the Antarctic food chain: without it, penguins, seals, marine birds and whales could not survive. Still, his fishing has become an exponential growth business, driven by an increasing question by the food supplements industry, feed for Acquacultura (especially for breeding salmon) and animal food.

The record achievement of the share is the direct consequence of a political failure. In October 2024, the commission for the protection of living marine resources in Antarctica (CCCCHLR), the international body that regulates fishing in the region, did not renew a crucial measure that forced fleets to distribute their fishing effort on different areas. Without this rule, the 14 “Super-Trawler”-gigantic fishing ships Flag of Norway, China, Chile, South Korea and Ukraine-were able to concentrate in the richest areas of Krill. The result? A massive and localized withdrawal that has emptied the natural “handouts” of wildlife.

Unsustainable numbers

The industry loves to be sustainable, underlining that the limit of 620,000 tons represents only a very small part of the total biomass of Krill. However, as the Sea Shepherd NGO points out, this statement is “deeply and deliberately misleading”. It is like saying that only 1% of the deer of an entire nation can be hired, but allowing to take them all in a single, small national park, explained the non -profit organization. This year, the concentration of fishing in sensitive areas was almost 60% higher than in previous years, precisely in those coastal areas where whales and penguins gather to feed.

The consequences are already visible and dramatic. The impact is not only indirect. The huge train networks represent a fatal threat. Sea Shepherd documented how, on March 25, 2025, a whale was trapped and died in the antarctic endavor fishing fishing net. A non -isolated event, given that in only 2024 at least three other young megattees suffered the same fate.

This crisis fits into an already alarming picture. For years, the proposal of Argentina and Chile to create a large protected marine area around the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the most exploited areas, is systematically blocked by the veto of Russia and China in the CCCCHLR. Meanwhile, the populations of emperor penguins, already put to the test by the climatic crisis that melts the ice, see their main source of food thin.

While the association of Krill producers (ARK) defines the current share a “provisional measure” and pushes the scientific community and the NGOs for an increase, the opposite. The early closure of fishing is a signal that can no longer be ignored: Antarctica is asking for help.

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