Richard Leakey

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Climate Change and Japan’s Krill Fishing are Devastating the Antarctic

Category: Oceans, climate change | Date: Feb 03 2009 | By: richardleakey

I returned to Kenya last week after a short but truly memorable trip to the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsular.  I traveled from Argentina, the port of Ushuaia, across the Drake Passage and returned by the same route after a week in the islands and the peninsular.  The sea was “bumpy” and not everyone would enjoy the crossing but the destination was quite awesome and one of the best experiences in my life.

Antarctica ice

The viewing of whales, orcas, various seals, penguins and of course the incredible ice formations was a wonderful way to spend a week.  My interest went further and I was especially interested to see what I could related to glacial retreat and the effects of climate change generally in the southern landscape, usually considered to be the coldest place on our planet.

seal.JPG

I was shown evidence where, in the past 10 years, the glacier front had receded several hundred meters, where inlets and small bays were free of ice now during summer but which never were so before.  Records from one of the research stations on the peninsular showed an increase of the mean summer temperatures of 2.5˚C.  Penguin species such as the Adelie were moving further south and warmer climate species were appearing for the first time.  There is no doubt that significant and rapid changes are taking place.

penguins-sml.JPG

The other alarming information I obtained was that the Krill (the essential base of the food chain for the vertebrate fauna) are also being depleted.  Whilst climate change and its effect on ice flows and pack ice have a major bearing on this, there is today massive fishing for krill by Japan.  I was told that new techniques for extracting krill at a far greater tonnage were now having devastating effects on the population density.  This will have an additional impact upon the survival of other biodiversity further up the food chain.

I wonder if anyone reading this has detailed information.  Are we seeing a different but perhaps a more sinister onslaught against sea mammals and birds in the Antarctic?  If so, should the alarm not be raised?  The over use of any species can have far reaching impacts on species survival across a broad spectrum.

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8 Responses to “Climate Change and Japan’s Krill Fishing are Devastating the Antarctic”

sheryl, washington, dc, on 03 Feb 2009

Wow, that was the trip of a lifetime! Are those your photos? Fantastic and so beautiful. I’ve been following the Sea Shepherd’s campaign against the Japanese whalers, perhaps they have some information about krill overfishing?

From a Google search, it appears this problem is getting little attention, but not as much as it deserves. Here’s a link to a NatGeo story about krill overfishing: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/25/business/krill.php It’s pretty dire. More links in the next comment …

s.

sheryl, washington, dc, on 03 Feb 2009

This is the Web site of the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project: http://www.krillcount.org/ They seem to have a lot of information on what’s happening to the krill.

s.

Annie, on 03 Feb 2009

Beautiful pictures! I can’t imagine there being no more of these animals!

Bridget Wijnberg, on 06 Feb 2009

oh goodness - one step forward and two steps back. This is grim.

Thank you so much for sharing this and raising awareness.

Its time we start behaving like responsible adults on this planet!!

Global Voices Online » What does Krill Fishing and Sandalwood Harvesting Have in Common?, on 06 Feb 2009

[…] renowned Kenyan conservationist, Dr Richard Leakey, who just returned from a trip to the Antarctic, reports in his blog that Japan has developed very effective Krill fishing techniques that ensure […]

Blueplanet, on 09 Feb 2009

I have been watching and studying the increase of the krill fishing industry in the Antarctic and share your concerns. Please feel free to get in touch if you wish to discuss this matter and my findings.

Dr Simon Wadsworth, on 09 Feb 2009

Hi

Ive been following the article on krill with interest, as I am a marine biologist working with Antarctic krill. I was dissappointed with the low grade information in the article. During the past 10 years krill fishing has been very stable and below 0.15 million tonnes. The precautionary total allowable catch for krill is just under 4 million tonnes and this allowed level has never been reached. The actual biomass of krill is estimated between 400-700 million tonnes. There has been no increase in fishing effort over recent years. Many of the species that are dependant upon krill such as penguins and seals are monitored for the past 20 years, with no impact observed that is attributable to krill fishing. The fishery is highly precautionary and is well maanged within the CCAMLR system. Independant science based groups such as British Antarctic Survey can give an independant and accurrate update on krill biomass, fishing and statistics on monitored species. As with all wildlife management, accurrate information is essential.

Global Voices in Italiano » Kenya: iper-sfruttamento del pesce krill e del legno di sandalo, on 10 Feb 2009

[…] rinomato ambientalista kenyano prof. Richard Leakey [in], appena tornato da una spedizione in Antartide [in], riferisce nel suo blog che il Giappone ha messo a punto tecniche assai efficaci per pescare […]

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