Krill

KRILL (EUPHAUSIA SUPERBA)
Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that constitute one of the world’s most abundant sources of marine nutrients. They live in cold, dark ocean waters and are mostly found in large swarms. Euphasia superba is the most frequent and best known species of krill in the Southern Ocean.

The biomass of krill in the oceans of the world is estimated at 200–750 million metric tons and the swarms can extend over 450 square kilometers with a mass of two million metric tons. These huge numbers are maintained through high reproduction rates and an abundant supply of the planktonic algae on which the krill feed. Harvesting of krill in the Southern Ocean is regulated by CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), which permits a catch of about one percent of total krill biomass annually.

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), the species that Aker BioMarine harvests, is one of the larger species. It grows over a period of approximately 3–5 years to a maximum size of 65mm, weighing up to 2 grams. E. superba occurs throughout most of the waters south of the Antarctic Convergence but is most abundant close to the Antarctic continent and around some of the Antarctic and sub Antarctic islands. The fisheries concentrate mainly on the larger adults, in the 40–65mm size range.