Estimates of the magnitude and commercial viability of the Antarctic krill resource. Agenda item presented at TAC Seventh Meeting, February 1974

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL RtiSTRICTZD DDDR:IAR/74/6 JANUARY 1974 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH: TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEZ Seven$h Meeting, Rome, 4-8 February, 1974 EXPLOITATION PERSPECTIVES dF THE ANTARCTIC KRILL RESOURCES (Agenda Item Isle) , . TAC SECRETTARIAT FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF TKE UNITti NATIONS ROME 1974 -I- l. Present state of the development activities for exploitation of krill resource.; The existence of large amounts of krill, pelagic crustaceans somaxhat resembl- ing small shrimp, in the Antarctic, and their importance as food for baleen whales .and other animals has been known for many years. Interest in commercial exploita- tion arose in the middle sixties, at a time when the baleen whale stocks had greatly declined due to heavy exploitation. This, however, required development of special catching techniques and of possibilities for utilization of the products, The Soviet Union was the first country to ,initiate; systematiostudies on the abund- ance and distribution of krill and the possibilities of.capture and utilization, followed later by Japan. Norway, United States, Hew Zealand and Australia have carried out some experiments to test commercial possibilities. The Federal Repub- lic of Germany now seems to have.started preparations for a research and experimen- tal cruise in the Antarctic in 1975 or ?976.’ Different fishing methods were tried by the Soviet Union,including mid-water trawling and side-trawls, some of -the latter connected with a pumping device which cant inuously pumped the catoh'on board ship. During the past few years experimen- tal commercial-type activities have been tried with one or two vessels, and a satisfactory catching technique would appear to have been developed. Two or three Soviet vessels are in the Antarctic this season to try commercial exploitation for a few months. A Japanese vessel landed 59 metric tons of frozen krill in March 1,973, caught with a mid-water trawl which proved to be inefficient. An improved trawl has been constructed, and the first results in the present Antarctic season gave rise to the expectation that this season 600 tons could be caught, whioh is considered to establish the commercial feasibility of the. exploitation. The frozen whole krill produced by Japan appears to have found a ready market for direct use in the same way as similar small Crustacea used traditionally in Japan. Research is being carried out on product diversification, including use as blenders in other fish products. The Soviet Union's vessels produce a shrimp paste by squeezing the liquid out of the animal tissues under pressure and coagu- lating the proteins contained in the liquid by heating. The proportion krill/ paste is about 4:l. The paste is frozen in blocks for storing and transportation, is sold as krill paste directly or mixed with ch.eese, butter and other products, and is accepted in the USSR market although there are price problems. Bill paste contains 70-757 0 moisture and 13-20s proteins,high in essential aminoacids like arginine, lysine, leucine and phenylalanine. . An important problem for commercial exploitation remains that of finding sufficient krill.concentrations. There appears to be considerable variation in the amount, distribution and/or detectability of the krill swarms in different years. Xore knowledge is required on the'factors which govern the distr,ibution and behaviour of the species in order to forecast the presence and location of exploitable krill concentrations, and further development of detection techniques is desirable. Present methods include visual detection of surface shoals- and echo- sounding. Other problems are related with further product development and with production casts. The existing knowledge on the nature of the resource'is summar- ized in the following sections. 2. Nature of the resource Though other related species exist in the region, the main bulk of the krill resource consistsof the Zuphausiidae Euphausia superba Dana. This small pelagic c-ustacean (adults do not exceed 70 mm, the common adult length is 45-50 mm) is ,found all around the Antarctic in the region between the Antarctic convergence. .  I  - 2 . ( 5 0 ~ 6 O O S .L .) a n d  th e  c o n tin e n t. It is a  spcc ics fo u n d  ma in ly  in  th e  u p p e r  w a te r  lsyors d o w n  to  2 5 0  m  a n d  qccurs  o fte n  in  swa rms  n e a r  o r  a t th e  aurf ' r~e.  T h e  swa rms  m a y  a tta in  dons i t ias  o f l o -16  kg  pe r  cub ic  m e te r  (Mo iseev ,  1 3 7 0 ) . A p a r t f rom th e  s u m m e r  per iod ,  th e  kri l l  s p e n d s  th e  g r e a te r  par t  o f its l i fe in  w a ters  o f a  te m p e r a tu re  o f a b o u t O " , b e l o w  th e  ice  o r  a t th e  e d g e  o f th e  pack  ice. Du r i ng  th e  s u m m e r  it is m o s t a b u n d a n t in  th e  h i g h  la t i tude coasta l  cur rent  in  th e  % a s t W ind  z o n e 'a n d  in  th e  l ow  lat i tude ocean ic  cur rent  f rom th e  W e d d e l l  S e a , a n d  a lso  in  th e  reg ions ,  q f th e  B ransf ie ld  S tr& it a n d  S o u th  G e o r g i a  (Mauch l i ne  a n d  Fisher ,  1 9 6 0 ) . T h e  z o n e  wh ich  s h o w s  th e  b e s t possib i l i t ies fo r  a  commerc ia l  exp lo i ta t ion o f kri l l  is th e  A tla n tic sector  o f th e  A n tarct ic S e a  (Scot ia  S e a )  a n d  th e  w a ters  a r o u n d  th e  A n tarct ic P e n i n s u l a . T h e  kri l l  m a tu re  a t th e  a g e  o f two c o m p l e te  years  a n d , acco rd ing  to  th e  d a ta  ava i lab le  in  th e  l i terature, they d ie  i m m e d i a te ly  a fte r  s p a w n i n g . O the rs  (e.g. Z a r g m a n n , 1 9 4 5 ; a n d  Marr ,  1 9 6 2 )  a s s u m e  th a t th e  s p e n t kri l l  surv ive  a fte r  s p a w n -  i ng  u n til th e  e n d  o f th e  A n tarct ic s u m m e r , w h e n  th e  phy- top lank ton  dec l ines.  Thus,  th e  l i fe s p a n  ex tends  ove r  two winters  a n d  th r e e  s u m m e r s . C o n trary to  o the r  E u p h a u s i i d  spec ies,  Zuphsus ia  s u p e r b a  fe e d s  a l m o s t exc lu-  s ively o n  p h y top lank ton ,  i.e . is s i tuated a t a  very  l ow  t rophic  level .  In  th e  S c o tia  S e a  juven i les  a n d  a d u l ts fo r m  s e p a r a te  swarms.  A d u l ts s e e m  to c o n c e n trate a r o u n d  th e  is lands  in  th is  a r e a  b u t swa rms  o f juven i les  h a v e  a lso  b e e n  fo u n d  th e r e . In  th e  ocean ic  a reas  ca tches  consist  m o s tly 'o f juven i les  ( m o d a l  l e n g th  o f a b o u t 3 5  m m ), wi th a  r e d u c e d  a d u l t c o m p o n e n t. .Acco rd ing  to  S h e v tsov a n d  M a k a r o v  ( 1 9 6 9 ) , du r i ng  th e  first hal f  o f th e  s u m m e r  th e  f ishery c a n  b e  b a s e d  o n  th e  exp lo i ta t ion u f a d u l t kril l, a n d  a t th e  e n d .o f th e  s u m m e r  th e  juveni les,  wh ich  a r e  c o m p l e tin g  the i r  s u m m e r  fe e d i n g ;p rov ide  g o o d  possibi l i t ies.  3 . Zstim a tes  o f th e  m a g n i tu d e  o f th e  resource  T h e  m o s t recent  S o v i e t p a p e r s  cons ide r  th e  s tand ing  stuck o f A n tarct ic kri l l  as  b e i n g  in  th e  o rde r  o f 8 0 0  to  5  0 0 0  m i l l ion to n s  ( Lyub imova  e t al,  1 9 7 3 )  a n d  th e  p o te n tia l  y ie ld  o f th e  stocks a t least  1 0 0  m i l l ion to n s  ( L a g u n o v  e t al,  1 9 7 3 ) . T h e  latter fig u r e  a g r e e s  wel l  wi th G u l land 's  es t imate  ( 1 9 7 1 )  o f a n  a n n u a l  kri l l  p r o d u c ,' tio n  o f 2 0 0  m i l l ion to n s . J a p a n e s e  est imates a re  a lso  concur ren t  wi th th is  fig u r e : O m u r a  ( 1 9 7 3 )  est imates th e  p o te n tia l  y ie ld  to  b e  b e tween  1 0 0  a n d  2 0 0  m i l l ion to n s  pe r  yea r9  b a s e d  o n  cons idera t ion  o f th e  a n n u a l  c o n s u m p tio n  by  wha les ,  Ho iseev  (2970 )  es t imated  th a t b e fo re  th e  dec l i ne  o f b a l e e n  w h a l e  p p p u l a tio n s  th e s e  c o n s u m e d  a t least  1 5 0  m il l ion to n s  o f kri l l  in  a  s e a s o n . If o the r  consumers  a re  a d d e d  w e  h a v e  a  to ta l  a n n u a l  c o n s u m p tio n  o f 2 5 0 - 3 0 0  m i l l ion to n s . I It shou ld  b e  n o te d  th a t e v e n  th e  smal les t  o f th e s e  figu res  la rge ly  exceeds  th e  p r e s e n t to ta l  a n n u a l  wor ld  ca tches  o f a q u a tic resources  (wh ich  w e r e  sl ight ly ove r  6 5  m il l ion to n s  in  1 9 7 2 ) . H o w e v e r , desp i te  th e  h u g e  b io log ica l  p o te n tia l  o f th e  resource,  two factors shou ld  b e  ta k e n  in to a c c o u n t fo r  a n  es t imat ion o f th e  harves tab le  yield: '  firstly, th a t th e  geog raph i ca l  a n d  m e t&oro log ica l  cond i t ions  in  th e  reg ion  a n d  th e  behav iou r  o f th e  resource  e n a b l e  g o o d  ca tches  to  b e  o b ta i n e d  du r i ng  a  smal l  par t  o f th e  yea r  only ;  second ly ,  th a t th e  a r e a  o f exp lo i tab le  con -  c e n trat ions a p p e a r s  to  b e  lim ite d  to  a  re lat ively smal l  sect ion o f th e  A n tarctic, a n d  th a t th e r e fo re  on ly  a  smal l  par t  o f th e  to ta l  kri l l  p r o d u c tio n  in  th e  w h o l e  A n tarct ic c a n  b e  harvested.  Never theless, i t  is be l i eved  th a t th e  harves tab le  y ie ld  o f th e  resource  cou ld  still b e  o f th e  o rde r  o f severa l  te n s  o f m i l l ion to n s . \ * -3- The total world fishery catches have nearly doubled every ten years during the last decades, to nearly 70 million tons in 197 1. Estimates of the total world potential of marine fish of the conventional types indicate that the optimum catch of these fish is probably,of the order of 100 million tons, less than double the present marine'fish catch. Kany of the remaining resources are species which are less attractive because of their value, accessibility or utherwise. It can be expected that the rate'of increase in world fish production from conventitinal resources will slow down, and that in order to maintain a substantial increase, attention should more and more be directed at harvesting unconventional resources, of which krill would seem to promise possibilities. Some international budies have paid attention to various aspects of the problems involved in the exploitation of the latter resources. On the advice of the FAO Advisory Committee on Marine BXOurOeS Iiesearch (ACMRR), the Long-term and &panded Programme of Oceanic Exploration and Research (Lil;POR), p:hich is coordinated'by the Internat ional Oceanographic Commission (I(X), included project 2.6, to determine abundance, distribution and interrelations of .tho principal organisms of the Southern Ocean, together with their life histories, aggregation and migration characteristics , particularly as related to the environ- ment, and to lay the scientific basis for efficient and rational harvesting of such organisms. The programme included conducting a cooperative survey Of the living resources of the Antarctic seas (Revision of Part,1 - Scientific Content. of the Expanded Programme, I.O.C. Sixth Session, Paris 1969); but so far it has received lit.t.le follow-up with respect to krill'resources. - --_- --.. . -_-.A___ : _ . _ . ..' ACMQ~ CLt its Sovcnth Session in Karch 1371 rccommcrldcd that FAO should Tcvi::k, the problem of obtainin & bettor estimateu of the potentials of unconventional rcsourccs, and noted that the world production of fish products allows for a consi- derable increase if unconventional species (amongst which bill was mentioned) Cal", be used. PA0 is now considering calling a small informal meeting of some senior officers Of CXJxkrieS interested,in krill exploitation and utilization to discuss the state of affairs, common problems, tion. and possibilities for international coopera- The interested countries are actively pursuing their research and develop- ment activities on the krill resources, but international coordination of these activities would be particularly.useful in vi‘ew cf the high costs of operating il: the Antarctic. .I .- RXF%RENCES Groisman, M.Ia., E.A. .Karpenka and G .N. Stepanov, Experimentai fish ing of 7969 'k r ill in the Scotia Sea. Tr.VXIRO(Vses.Nauchno-Issled.Ins t.Xorsk, IRybn.Khoz.), 56:276-83 (in Russ ian) Gulland, J .A., (Comp.), The fish resources of the ocean. W est Byfleet, Surrey, 1971 Fishing News (Dooks) Ltd., 255 p. Lagunov, L.L., e &.t Utilization of k r ill for human,consumption. ?aper 1Y73 presented to the III Session FAO Technical Conference on F ishery ,' Products, Tokyo, 4-10 December 1973. Rome, FAO, FII:FP/'?@-34: 6 PO Lyubimova (T.G., A,G . Naumov and L.L. Lagunov, Prospects of the utilization 3973 of k r ill and other nonconventional resources bf the world ocean. Paper presented to the.111 Session FAO Technical Conference on F ishery Management and Development, Vancouver, 13-23 February 7973. Rome, FAO, FI:IW D /73/S-46:9 p. Mack intosh, N.A., Life c y c le of Antarctic k r ill in relation to ice and water 1572 conditions . Discovery  Rep., 36:1-94 ?$arr, J .V. s . , *The natural his tory and geography of the Antarctic k r ill 1962 (Euphausia superba Dana). Discovery  Rep., 32:33-464 , fdauchline J . and L.R. F isher, The biology  of euphausiids, Adv,Mar.Biol., 1969 7:454 PO Xoiseev, P.A., Some aspects of the commercial use of the k r ill r -sources of 1970 Antarctic Seas. In Antarctic ecology , London, Academic Press, vol.1:213-6 edited by J .W . Eoldgate. Omura, H., W hales  and Euphausia superba. To:-yo, Japan Marine Resources 1973 Research and Development Centre, 1973/l (in Japanese) Shevtsov, V.V. and R.R. Makarov, On the biology  of Antarctic k r ill. 1969 Tr.VnTIRO(Vses.Nauchno-Issled,Ins t.Morsk*Rybn.~oz~~, 66:177-206. Issued also as Trans.Fish.Lab., Lowestoft, (PI):22 p. (1970) Shohara, J .R. (Comp.), Japanese to market k r ill taken in the Antarctic Ocean. 1973 NOAA Foreign F ish.Inf.Releass, (73-10):2-3 (May 3) -  shust, K.V., Visual observations  on hi.11 concentrations. 1969 Tr.V!jIRO(Vs;s. Nauohno-Issled,Inst.Morsk.Rybn*Khoz.), 66:223-30 in Russ ian --~ Stasenko; V.D., Determining the rational k r ill fish ing methods and the 1967 commercial effec tiveness of the chosen fish ing gear. In Soviet F ishery Research on the Antarctic k r ill, edited by R.N. Burukovskiy . W ashington, U.S. Department of Commerce, Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific  and Technical Translations , TT-67-32683 Steinert, R., Die Nahrung der W ale fi.ir die Xenstihen nutzen? Frankf.Ztg., 1974 1974(12):9, 15 Jan. Tupolev, V.M:, Experimental commercial fish ing of Antarctic k r ill with the 7369 vesse ls  tlOREKZOVO" and 'lODDORSK'f.  Tr.VIJIRO(Vses.Bauchno-Isslcd. Ins t.Morsk.Rybh.Khoz.), 66:284-54 

Exploitation Perspective of the Antarctic Krill Resources

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Exploitation Perspective of the Antarctic Krill Resources

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