Adjusting the Management of the Antarctic Krill Fishery to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century

This background paper presents an article recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by authors affiliated with the SCAR Krill Expert Group entitled “Adjusting management of the Antarctic krill fishery to meet the challenges of the 21st Century”. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412624122. The article proposes 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. The article highlights that implementing this approach will require targeted data collection which can be accomplished through a multi-sector collaborative network, including partnering with industry. The authors conclude that setting catch limits based on scientific evidence can help ensure the stability of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and the species that depend on it.