World’s largest krill harvester at centre of row over ‘blue tick’ sustainability label | Marine life

Environmental groups have opposed the recommendation to give a Norwegian krill fishing giant a “blue tick” sustainability label, due to concerns about concentrated fishing pressure and the dramatic effects of climate on Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem.

Norway’s Aker QRILL, the world’s largest fisher of krill, a tiny crustacean keystone of Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem, and its sister company, Aker BioMarine, produce feed additives for aquaculture and dietary supplements for pets and humans.

Their krill-based products have carried the “blue tick” label since 2010, managed by the non-profit Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) fisheries certification system.

Aker is being reassessed for his Blue Check Program eligibility by a third-party evaluator.

Environmentalists say that since Aker was last certified as meeting MSC standards for a “sustainable and well-managed” fishery in 2020, management of the entire Antarctic krill fishery has deteriorated, due to unenforced conservation measures.

Holly Curry, campaign director on marine protected areas at the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (Asoc), a conservation charity, said: “The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition opposes the recommendation to recertify the Antarctic krill fishery.

Rhona Kent, Polar Oceans Program Manager at WWF-UK, said: “To protect this extraordinary species and wider ecosystem, WWF is calling for an immediate moratorium on krill fishing and a review of the sustainability certification issued by the MSC until more prudent fisheries management measures are agreed by CCAMLR. »

CCAMLR is the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Life, a body established to protect the region from overexploitation.

By 2024, a key rule, or “conservation measure” to disperse krill catches across a number of areas in the Southern Ocean to avoid local depletion, lapsed due to political impasse. China and Russia, two CCAMLR countries, have blocked the renewal of an agreement restricting krill fishing in 2024. In 2025, the countries once again failed to reach consensus on conservation measures.

This has raised concerns about the local depletion of krill, the main food source for whales, penguins and seals, in key feeding grounds.

Last year, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey warned that extreme climate change in Antarctica was occurring faster than expected and as a result crucial populations of krill, which also provide an important climate buffer, were increasingly under threat.

As a result, Asoc and WWF oppose any MSC recertification of the Aker fishery. Asoc has written to third-party assessors and the MSC, saying the current assessment fails to take into account growing climate concerns and outdated conservation measures.

NGOs are not the only ones to express their concern. In his film Ocean, which showed industrial krill trawlers alongside Antarctic whales, David Attenborough said: “Some people say it’s sustainable, but we could destroy the foundations of an entire ecosystem. »

In February, a 300-page draft report on Aker’s MSC tick assessment by the LRQA, part of Lloyds Register and a third-party “conformity assessment body” for the Marine Stewardship Council, determined that the Aker fishery should be certified “to the MSC standard” for a further five years.

Curry expressed deep disappointment that assessors had not addressed Asoc’s concerns about the continued sustainability of the krill fishery.

“This has taken a step backwards,” she said, given the impasse facing the 26-nation organization. Asoc has now submitted formal objections to the report, which will be referred to an independent adjudicator.

An MSC spokesperson said he could not comment on Aker’s evaluation, which was still ongoing. The council’s standards for krill, as a keystone species, feature “particularly precautionary catch limits that are well below those of other species, ensuring that the needs of food-chain dependent predators are met before those of humans”, they said.

“In terms of management, all fisheries seeking certification must demonstrate that the management system in which they operate is effective.” This includes measures they have taken or those taken by the relevant management bodies, in this case CCAMLR, the spokesperson said.

Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker QRILL, said NGOs have an “extreme narrative” that is “counterproductive” to achieving ecosystem protection in Antarctica, given the need for cooperation and consensus within CCAMLR.

His company works behind the scenes, including visiting China, to help break the impasse over appropriate conservation measures in Antarctica. Aker has no interest in developing his fishery, he added.

“We want these changes, we want the MPA to be in place, we want spatial management to be in place and we are working hard to achieve that,” Johansen said.