Much has been said about South Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba, Dana) species products, specifically meals and oils, becoming sustainable, competitively priced aqua-feed ingredient replacements for brown fishmeal and fish oils.

Undoubtedly krill meals and oils have unsurpassed nutritional qualities that aqua-feeds can and should profit from. Nonetheless, feed manufacturers should count on them as one-more feed component alternative rather than being an entire substitute option.

There are three relevant aspects of this fishery that will preclude South Antarctic Krill derivatives to become stable, price-competitive feed ingredients; processing and logistic complexities, owner/processors’ options of alternative higher value-added routes and environmental and regulatory aspects.

Processing complexities abound, no matter how simple it may be seen to process “just another pelagic” species. South Antarctic Krill has not proved to be another “typical pelagic species”. Logistic aspects are also difficult to work with, in relation to the area where it is captured and processed as well as the costs involved for this operation.

For key fishing operators (owners), although feed-grade krill meals and oils are relevant end-product targets, there are also other krill derivatives that may add much more value to the at-sea operation, pharma-grade krill oils (phospholipids-rich) for example, food-grade whole frozen krill and white tablecloth food-grade meats.

Environmental and regulatory aspects will and need to be seriously addressed in order to prevent the South Antarctic Krill face the same detrimental fishing effort seen on other species if it wants to become a sustainable and environmental-friendly resource option. The major overfishing risk relies on the South Antarctic Krill species’ being key resource for the entire South Antarctic trophic feed-chain.

Construction of modern vessels for krill fisheries and processing is foreseen anyway; also the introduction of new technologies on krill catch and resulting products, such as krill oil, hidrolizates, astaxanthine-related antioxidants and other preparations. At present, krill products produced by Norwegian company Aker Biomarine are mainly directed towards the supply of Norwegian and other world feed-grade aquaculture farms with specialized feed mix demand. Other South Antarctic Krill operators are working on this same route, although also on high-value krill-related end products, focused essentially towards the pharma market.

Much has been said and discussed lately about the possible negative consequences of the Norwegian-South Antarctic krill fishery nonregular catch-gear, being this a vacuum-pump procedure, and its effect on the ecology of the area(s) where this fishery is carried out. This concern includes on how other krill operators will react, ones that may be also tempted to try this catch procedure as well. On our latest research work this effect is analyzed, based also on the material and proceedings of the 24th and 25th CCAMLR Sessions, as well as many other publications plus onsite results of own research as well. (CCAMLR – Commission on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources)

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is one of the largest marine resources of animal origin protein on the planet. It is largely underutilized.

Total allowable krill catch in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctic region, established by CCAMLR, is 4.0 million ton, while in the Indian Ocean Sector (within Community Sea) – 1.5 million ton. Meantime, in the period of the most intensive Antarctic krill fishery, from 1978 till 1992, its average annual catch (by all participant countries working at that time) was 0.35 million ton, the max volume being about 0.5 million ton. Since 1985 the only one main area of commercial krill fishery interest has been the Antarctic part of the Atlantic Ocean (APA). The fishery is conducted in offshore areas off-South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands and the Island of the South Georgia.

Since 1993 krill catch has been on the low level. The average annual catch volume for the period ranging from 1993 till 2006 was 0.105 million ton (of them, about 15 % belongs to Ukraine). This volume is 3 times lower than the similar index for the preceding 14-year period. The principal reason of the low commercial capture level is explained by the termination of the Russia krill fishing activity 1993 onwards, and the diminished catch of Ukraine as compared to the 1980s, when about 80 % of the world catch was theirs.

Thus, reduction of krill catch after 1992 was not necessarily caused by a species depletion or over-exploitation of its fishery base.

There is no doubt that krill is the key element of the Antarctic Region ecosystem, on the high-latitudinal part. It is the basic feeding resource for most animals of this region – mustaches whale, seals, fur seals, birds, many fishes species. And this situation makes South Antarctic krill a species to preserve and have a good management of it.

Krill has attracted researchers’ attention long ago, first of all as a raw material for valuable albuminous products. Krill meat taste quality is similar to those of shrimp meat. It is rich in proteins (11-16 %) and contains 6 % of fat. Krill proteins contain all set of irreplaceable amino acids, surpassing by far warm-blooded animals meat on these indexes, and corresponds to the standard of albumen content accepted by FAO. Krill tissues contain all the macro- and microelements necessary for human beings’ well being, biological active matters (BAM), including a wide complex of water and fat-dissoluble vitamins and provitamins. Numerous researchers ascertained that krill-related food products have radio protective and immunostimulating properties, and if taken regularly as a food, it promotes removal of radioactive nuclides and salts of heavy metals out of the human organism and reduces blood cholesterol level. Not surprisingly, already in 1970s, i.e. almost from the moment that the commercial South Antarctic krill fishery started, research focused on obtaining pure food-grade krill meat. The method of meat production (as a stuffing agent) was developed in the Federal Republic of Germany and that of boiled and fresh-frozen meat – in the former Soviet Union.

Japanese, Ukrainian, Polish, German, USA and other countries have performed manufacturing food-grade krill products. It became possible due to the construction of specialized large-capacity fish-krill super trawlers.

The value of the resulting food products produced by these vessels is about 90% of the total “revenue-commodity” output value. The other 10% value belongs to raw krill used as a feed-grade meal material. It should be noted that production technology of food and feed products used on these vessels meet somehow ecological requirements of international organizations related to the activity performed in the Antarctic Region, although more improvements need to be done on these respects, related to capture system and the protection on by-catch species, for example.

Unlike Ukrainian and American owners, dealing mainly with foodrelated products, other operators pay greater, and sometimes sole attention to the production of feed-grade krill meal and other types of feeding products.

Feed-grade krill meal is more expensive than fishmeal, the latter traditionally used in the aquaculture industry. Krill meal contains a complete set of required amino acids. Feed mixes on the basis of krill products are of special attractiveness for the aquaculture industry, specialized in commercial-scale farming of valuable fish species (i.e. salmon, trout), as well as shrimps.

Krill resource used towards feed-grade end products serves also as initial raw material for more valuable end products – krill oil rich in BAM for example. Its basic user is the aquaculture industry, while the pharmaceutical industry still lacks a suitable, sustainable, high-grade special-quality pharma-grade krill oil.

Krill oil contains several unique components, e.g. phospholipids, which have the complex fatty acid «Omega-3» in its composition. The use of «Omega-3» for human health wellness and overall health improvement is well known, although the deficit of natural good-quality raw material sources limits the production of the above. Krill resource opens a wide prospect of food/pharma products and its use as an additive on various functional food products. It still lacks though the proper processing facilities and the knowledge on how a good krill oil extraction procedure works. Krill oil production technology can be based on different approaches. It is possible to apply enzymatic hydrolysis for albumen disintegration and freeing structural lipids, extraction of the dehydrated mass by polar solvents and electro physical methods – electroplasmolysis, electro-hydrodynamic blow, and ultrasound.

Although the promising market alternatives and krill’s fishery potential, the 2005 CCAMLR's Scientific Committee warned that the krill fishery capture procedure based on continuous pumping becomes a highly potential risk for the marine ecosystem, possibly also related to a higher by catch of larvae and juvenile fish and krill as compared to trawls of krill vessels traditionally equipped with normal trawl and gear. The following 2006 CCAMLR Scientific Committee admitted that the use of this fishing method creates a series of considerable problems regarding registration of fishing effort, catch, collection of biological data and by catch data. It is also important to estimate the ecological compatibility of using organic solvents aboard vessels while producing krill oil and its derivatives, as it may also have negative consequences for the ecosystem components.

This new method of krill fishery can and it may indeed have a negative consequence for the pelagian ecosystem of these fishing areas, especially when krill catches increases. It is not inconceivable that CCAMLR will be confronted by another problem related to such operations if it is discovered that the catch technology used does not guarantee ecological safety of the environment.

A greater debate will surely arise within CCAMLR in particular and the “seafood and fishing community” in general, if other krill-projects at present being under analysis conclude positively their commercial-scale involvement in this fishery and might also decide to jump onto it as well. In such case, our catch-effort estimate might fall short.

Information about authors:

• Dr. Bibik Vladimir Andreyevich. Southern SRI of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (YugNIRO), senior scientific worker of the Laboratory of the Southern Ocean biological resources.
• Dr. Vinnov Aleksey Sergeyevich. Kerch Marine Technological University, Head of the Department of Marine Products Technology and Chemistry.
• Mr. Sclabos, Dimitri. General Manager, «Tharos Ltd», Santiago, Chile.