Fact sheet

Krill The foundation

for life in the Antarctic.
Ascenta does not source krill oil for its products.
Protecting and restoring the environment is at the heart and soul of Ascenta.
Our oils are derived from sustainably harvested wild stocks that have gone through multiple levels of scientific review assessing the
stock and ecosystem status as well as the applied fishing methods. We have progressively worked toward diversification to avoid
putting pressure on any one resource. We maintain a strict policy against the use of unsustainable omega-3 sources, or sources
that have negative impacts on the production of the ecosystem.
For that reason, we have chosen not to use krill.

Facts about Krill:

Ascenta stands by Antarctic scientists who believe that
fishing for krill is taking an unnecessary risk with an
entire ecosystem for three key reasons:
1. K
rill is the base of the entire food web
whales, penguins, seals and other species are hugely or
almost totally reliant on krill as a food-source;
2. W
e really do not know how much krill there is.
No population survey - basic data needed for fisheries
management - has ever been completed. Current
management decisions are based on abundance
estimates from 12 years ago. Plus the swarming behaviour
of krill makes them extremely vulnerable to overfishing and
localized depletion;
3. K
rill population will continue to be drastically affected
by climate and sea ice changes which are happening
rapidly in the Antarctic.
Krill is one of the most abundant species in
the ocean as they are the base of the entire
food web. Krill is the main food source for
whales, penguins, seals and fish.
Krill are tiny creatures, measuring no more
than 62 millimeters.
The Antarctic supports 50% of all the krill
biomass on Earth and is the main area where
krill is fished.i
Both Canada and the US have decided not
to allow krill fisheries in their waters.
Krill has declined in the Antarctic by 38-80%
over the last 30 years and along with it the
animals that depend on it for survival.ii
In the Antarctic, krill reproduce under the sea
ice. A lack of sea ice means less krill.
Increased fishing pressure is not a burden that
needs to be added to this fragile part of our
ocean world.

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Fact sheet
Fishing for krill is taking an unnecessary
risk with an entire ecosystem.
1. Krill is the base of a food web that sustains Even if the fisheries only catch a
an ecosystem. small percentage of the krill, we
need to be concerned. It is not
Krill are tiny creatures, measuring no more than 62 milimeters. It
the percentage that really
is incredible, but true that these animals are the main food
matters when it comes to fishing
source for millions of whales, penguins, seals, and fish that
for krill, but where they are
migrate thousands of miles to the Antarctic to feed. The Antarctic
fishing and how. Krill are not
supports 50% of all the krill biomass on Earth and is the main
evenly distributed through the
area where krill is fished.iii The health of krill there directly
Southern Ocean. They
supports the health of the rest of the food web.
aggregate in huge swarms
For example, baleen whales rely on krill to add about 50% kilometers long and up to thirty
of their body weight when they are feeding in the Antarctic.iv metres deep - superswarms of up
They arrive after weeks of fasting while swimming from the to 10 kms have been recorded.
tropics females with calves in tow. Krill is consumed by whales They also congregate near the sea
in enormous amounts and the Antarctic is an incredibly important ice shelf and in bays in close range to
foraging area for recovering whale populations a safe haven for the animals that rely on them.
their summer feasting.
Superswarms are thought to account for the
Penguins of the Antarctic are also dependent on krill for the majority of the entire biomass of krill in the
majority of their diet. Results of a 2010 study tracking Adelie Southern Ocean - 60-70% of all krill could be
and Chinstrap penguin populations over 30 years show an represented by 10 or so swarms.vii This swarming
alarming decline of over 50%. The scientists link this decline to behaviour makes them very vulnerable to overfishing, especially
the decline of krill and suggest it will only persist as sea ice with the Antarctic fleet of high tech, industrial trawlers that can
continues to disappear. Penguins will need to go farther, scoop up swarms entirely millions of tonnes of krill in one
expending more energy to find their food, and the krill will lose pass. This localized overfishing means that animals like
their most important breeding grounds under the ice shelf. penguins, seals and whales are forced to travel farther and
With krill at already depleted levels, human fishing will result spend more energy looking for food when they lose their local
in continued decreases that will ripple through the ecosystem. source to human predation.
New technology introduced a few years ago now means the
2. We really do not know how much krill there is. massive trawlers can freeze and process the krill right on board
No population survey has ever been completed for krill. The last even turning
effort to assess the stocks of krill was in 2000 12 years ago. In them into biofuel
Krill MSC Certified?
a rapidly changing environment with such a short lived species out at sea. On top
Only one vessel of one company, Aker
this is too outdated. There is more and more pressure to expand of that, krill is
BioMarine, in the krill fishery has applied for and
the fishery as demand for krill oil to use in aquaculture feed, pet losing its natural received Marine Stewardship Council
food and omega-3 supplements increases.v Current protector winter. certification. The krill fishery as a whole has not
been certified and this one certification was
management regulations are based on old geographic and In the last few
strongly opposed by a member coalition of
biological data and were made before the new, vacuum-like years, something conservation groups and Antarctic scientists for
fishing technology was introduced. It also doesnt take into never seen before all the reasons stated above.
account climate change patterns. in the Antarctic
took place year
Krill is one of the most abundant species, possibly the most
round fishing. With the decrease in sea ice, the fishery can
abundant, on the planet with millions and millions of tonnes
get to places never accessible before.
available to be caught, and we only catch a small fraction.
Defenders of the krill fishery in the Antarctic love to quote this With little understanding of how much krill there really is, being
fact. While this may be true, there is a reason there is so much cautious to protect this valuable species is essential. Trying to
krill in the ocean. These tiny creatures are not just waiting to be
caught by humans they are one of the bases of life in the
ocean and they are in trouble. Krill has declined in the Antarctic
by 38-80% over the last 30 years and along with it the animals
that depend on it for survival.vi

manage a fishery without a population survey and the various
key factors that influence it is like driving with a blindfold.
3. Climate change will continue to drastically
affect krill population
Krill reproduce under the sea ice. A lack of sea ice means less
krill, which means less of everything that relies on them.viii
The Antarctic has seen the most dramatic warming of anywhere
on the globe in recent years. The temperature rise has exceeded
2.5C over the last 50 years and although the rate is seasonally
variable, the number of days when temperatures reach above
0C has risen by 74%.ix 14 000 kilometers of sea ice has been
lost from the Antarctic peninsula over the last 50 years.
Dr. Graham Hosie has spent 20 years tracking plankton in the
Antarctic krills food - and is alarmed at the declines he is
seeing in krill, which
Whale poop and Data gaps he blames on climate
On top of the unpredictable future effects of
change and over
a changing climate, there is an enormous fishing.x Krill is a
amount of data that we just dont know bellweather for
about this complex ecosystem. The
changes in the
research on relationships between krill and
their predators is only starting to take shape Antarctic environment;
in the last couple of years. Take for example if krill continue to
the krill paradox scientists have been
decline the same
struggling to explain for decades. When the
population of the krill predator, sperm effect will ripple
whales declines, so too, does the krill through the bird Long-term decline in krill stock and increase in salps within the Southern Ocea n. Nature.
population. Why, when they are being eaten and whale populations
less? In 2010, scientist published a possible
answer. Sperm whale poop adds 50 tonnes
that rely on them Super-Aggregations of Krill and Humpback Whales in Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula.
of iron to the Southern Ocean a key so heavily.
nutrient for phytoplankton krills food. No
whales, no poop, no iron, no phytoplankton,
no krill, no whales a complex feedback
loop. Just one example of how little we
humans understand.
Fact sheet
Conclusion
When fisheries are allowed to target the very bottom of the food
system, the risks are great and should only proceed with great
caution and depth of understanding.xi In the case of the krill
fishery, the uncertainties are too numerous. If the predictions of
safe catch are wrong, an entire ecosystem could be devastated.
Our track record at managing fisheries at sustainable levels is
dismal with 85 % of the worlds fisheries fully or overexploited.xii
While human pressure is not the only factor removing krill from
the Southern Ocean, it is the one factor we have control over.
Fishing for krill must be considered beyond just the financial and
health benefits that may be gained for humans, but for its
far-reaching implications on the ecosystem now and in an
uncertain future. It is simply irresponsible to increase our
footprint in the Antarctic by exploiting krill, the basis for life
there, as a commodity.
i Reid K, Watkins JL, Murphy EJ, Trathan PN, Fielding S, Enderlein P(2010). krill population
dynamics at South Georgia: implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management. Marine
Ecology Progress Series. 399:243-252.
ii Atkinson A, Siegel V, Pakhomov E, Rothery P (2004). Long-term decline in krill stock and
increase in salps within the Southern Ocean. Nature. 432:100-103. Atkinson, A., Siegel, V.,
Pakhomov, E. & Rothery, P. (2004). Long-term decline in krill stock and increase in salps
within the Southern Ocean. Nature 432: 100-103. Everson, I. [ed] (2000). Krill; Biology,
Ecology and Fisheries. Publ Blackwell Sciences 372pp Trivelpiece WZ, Hinkea JT, Millera AK,
Reissa CS, Trivelpiecea SG, Watters GM (2011). Variability in krill biomass links harvesting
and climate warming to penguin population changes in Antarctica. PNAS. 108:7625-7628
iii Reid K, Watkins JL, Murphy EJ, Trathan PN, Fielding S, Enderlein P(2010). krill population
dynamics at South Georgia: implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management. Marine
Ecology Progress Series. 399:243-252. Atkinson A, Siegel V, Pakhomov E, Rothery P (2004).
432:100-103.
iv Nowacek DP, Friedlaender AS, Halpin PN, Hazen EL, Johnston DW, et al. (2011)
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Krill; Biology, Ecology and Fisheries. Publ Blackwell Sciences 372pp. Trivelpiece WZ, Hinkea
JT, Millera AK, Reissa CS, Trivelpiecea SG, Watters GM (2011). Variability in krill biomass
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108:7625-7628
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ix Anisimov, O.A., D.G. Vaughan, T.V. Callaghan, C. Furgal, H. Marchant, T.D.
Prowse, H. Vilhjlmsson and J.E. Walsh, (2007). Polar regions (Arctic and
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Watkins J, Naganobu M, Sushin V, Brierley AS, Demer D, Kasatkina S, Takao
Y, Goss C, Malyshko A, Brandon M, Kawaguchi S, Siegel V, Trathan P, Emery
J, Everson I, Miller D (2004).Biomass of Antarctic krill in the Scotia Sea in
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xii FAO (2011) State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010. Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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