Spatial structure of krill stock in the Antarctic Peninsula region and implication for krill fishery management

To inform the Krill Stock Hypothesis and facilitate the implementation of the revised Krill Fishery Management Approach (KFMA), this study presents main findings from the most recent two surveys covering all the five (5) core candidate Management Units of the KFMA in Subarea 48.1 conducted by Chinese krill fishing vessels in February 2024 and January 2025. Results from the two surveys demonstrated a consistent pattern on the spatial separation between spawning and juvenile krill: spawning adults widely distributed in deep offshore waters beyond the shelf break extending from the northern Palmer Archipelago sector of the Gerlache Strait to the Elephant Island, while juveniles were mainly concentrated in the southern Bransfield Strait and around the Joinville Islands. Oceanographic analysis further indicated that this distribution pattern aligned closely with the spatial structure of water masses with influences from the Bellingshausen Sea and Weddell Sea waters respectively. The findings highlight the needs for considering the spatial distribution and connectivity of krill stock as well as their association with oceanographic features across management units.