The benefits of integrating the Krill Stock Hypothesis (KSH) as an integral Part into the Revised Krill Stock Management Approach (KSMA)

This content is part of the manuscript “Adjusting management of the Antarctic krill
fishery to the challenges of the 21st Century”, which is at present under review in PNAS.
Climate change is threatening krill populations and their predators, while current catch
limits do not take into account climate variability or krill population dynamics. In 2024,
CCAMLR was unable to renew its spatial catch limits, highlighting the urgent need for
improved management of the krill fishery to prevent any harm to the Southern Ocean
ecosystem. To address this, we propose a management framework that integrates
variability in krill recruitment and key pathways between spawning and nursery areas
- a krill stock hypothesis - to inform decisions on catch limits and conservation
measures. Implementing this approach will require targeted data collection, which we
propose can be achieved through a multi-sector collaborative network that combines
traditional and new technologies, including the use of fishing vessels as data collection
platforms. We use case studies to demonstrate how fisheries can contribute to data
collection while promoting sustainable management. A major challenge in this effort is
securing long-term funding for data collection, which is critical for managing climate-sensitive populations of high commercial interest. We therefore recommend utilizing
the industry as a source of funding, a research platform, and a data provider, alongside
national research funding opportunities. Given the fundamental role of krill in the
Southern Ocean ecosystem, its decline would have cascading effects on predators
and essential ecosystem services.