Whales die after becoming trapped in fishing nets in Antarctica

MIAMI (AP) — Two humpback whales were found dead and another seriously injured this year in huge nets used to collect krill for fishmeal and omega-3 pills near Antarctica, the Associated Press has learned.

The whale kill, which has not previously been reported, was discussed during recent negotiations between the US, China, Russia and 20 other countries, where officials failed to make progress on long-discussed conservation goals and lifted some fishing restrictions in the Southern Ocean . that have existed since 2009.

Taken together, whale deaths and the rollback of catch limits are a setback for remote areas fishing for krillwhich has boomed in recent years and is set to expand even further following the acquisition of its largest harvester, Norway’s Aker BioMarine, by a deep-pocketed US private equity firm.

AP journalists spent more than two weeks in the icy waters around Antarctica last year aboard a conservation vessel managed by Sea Shepherd Global to take a rare, close-up view of the world’s southernmost fishery. As part of that investigation, the AP followed the tiny crustacean on its journey from the fragile ecosystem, where it is the main food for whales, to salmon farms in Europe, Canada and Australia, pet food makers in China and a former ice cream factory. in Houston, which produces 80% of the world’s nutrient-rich krill oil.

Delegates to the annual meeting in Australia of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) shared unpublished reports on whale deaths with the AP on condition of anonymity because the talks, which ended last week, are not open to the public . Officials from CCAMLR, which was formed in 1982 to protect international waters near Antarctica, did not comment.

Under a conservation agreement drawn up almost twenty years ago, krill catches have increased enormously: from 104,728 tons in 2007 to 424,203 tons in 2023 as larger, more advanced ships have joined the chase. So far this year, the catch has risen to 498,000 tonnes – the highest on record, according to the unpublished reports.

Although fishing is still below a previously agreed limit and barely 1% of the estimated 63 million tonnes of krill biomass is found in Antarctica’s main fishing grounds, direct competition between marine mammals has led to whale deaths before.

But following the first-ever recorded entanglement of four humpback whales in 2021 and 2022, Aker BioMarine has redesigned its fishing nets, which regularly suck up to 500 tonnes of krill per day – the equivalent daily diet for around 150 humpback whales. First it added a rope barrier to deter large mammals and then last fall it developed a second barrier to close a still-significant gap that can threaten vertically swimming whales.

The new net had not yet been installed when a juvenile humpback whale was spotted dead on January 27 on the Antarctic Endurance, the company’s most advanced supertrawler, according to a report presented by Norwegian negotiators at the CCAMLR meeting.

The reasons behind the second death in May involving another Aker BioMarine vessel remain unclear. But two days earlier, the ship reported that the ship was having difficulty maneuvering its net and blubber was found on the ship’s conveyor belt, indicating that the dead whale had been trapped in the net for some time, the report said.

A third humpback whale was captured alive in late January on a Chilean-flagged vessel, the Antarctic Endeavor, using traditional trawls. After the ship’s crew struggled for 40 minutes to cut the net wrapped tightly around the 50-foot-long male, the whale, with blood on its tail, was dumped back into the ocean.

“Upon release, the animal was lethargic and had some injuries from rubbing with the net,” said a report by the Chilean delegation to the CCAMLR talks, which included graphic images of the capture. Although the whale was observed swimming, the capture was ruled a fatality by CCAMLR scientists as the released whale’s injuries were likely to be fatal.

Attempts to contact the trawler’s owner, Pesca Chile SA, were unsuccessful.

A minke whale was also found dead after becoming entangled in a buoy line on a South Korean vessel targeting Patagonian ice fishing, which is also managed by the CCAMLR. It was the first whale death ever recorded in the fishery.

Pressure on krill stocks is increasing due to rising demand for omega-3 pills as nutritional supplements, advances in fishing and rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.

This summer, New York-based American Industrial Partners acquired a majority stake in Aker BioMarine’s feed business with the aim of positioning krill as a premium ingredient for the aquaculture sector, now the source for about half of the world’s seafood.

Webjørn Barstad, CEO of the new company Aker BioMarine Antarctic, said developing new technologies to reduce the risks of whale deaths is a top priority. From next season, he said, the entire fleet will be equipped with special strain sensors that will alert the crew when a whale has come into contact with the mesh of a trawler’s net. Underwater cameras could also be used, he said.

“Our goal is always zero incidents,” Barstad said in an interview. “Hopefully the net will do the job, but we’ll also try something else.”

CCAMLR, whose mission is conservation, is charged with guiding the fishing industry. But in recent years, progress has stalled due to geopolitical wrangling, especially opposition from China and Russia.

At the last meeting, hopes were high that delegates would adopt a new management plan to further spread the krill catch and ultimately adopt a new management plan. Reserve the size of California along the Antarctic Peninsula, a very sensitive ecosystem. Currently, less than 5% of the Southern Ocean is protected – well behind the CCAMLR target and nowhere near enough to meet a United Nations target conserve 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

But a provisional deal collapsed over a last-minute proposal from Britain and Australia for an even lower catch limit than agreed during summer talks, according to a delegate who spoke to AP. China objected to continued Western demands, then withdrew its support for the marine reserve and refused to renew the existing management system.

The result: a catch limit of 620,000 tonnes, which has divided the fishery into four quota areas for fifteen years, can now be concentrated in even smaller krill hotspots, some of which are teeming with wildlife including seals and penguins, while some are already drawing of stress due to competition with fishing, tourism and climate change.

“The meeting was a huge disappointment, even given the low standards we have come to expect,” said Evan Bloom, who led the U.S. delegation to the annual CCAMLR meeting for 15 years until his retirement from the State Department in 2020. led. .

“Krill are the foundation of the Antarctic food chain and krill fishing must be tackled sustainably if the entire ecosystem is to thrive,” Bloom said, adding that in the absence of further action from CCAMLR and given progress in fisheries the “ prospects for damaging the ecosystem have now increased.”

Barstad said the krill industry will consider setting its own voluntary limits in the absence of an updated CCAMLR framework.

“Whether it’s a major setback, I’m not so sure,” he said. “Once you get past the emotion and come to terms with the fact that an arrangement that had been in place for a number of years now suddenly disappears, kind of out of the blue, I think it can create a better atmosphere to discuss how we can make progress. sustainable based on science.”

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This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.