Race for Antarctic krill a test for green management

By David Fogarty

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - In the global rush for resources, a tiny pink crustacean living in the seas around Antarctica is testing man's ability to manage one of the world's last great fisheries without damaging the environment.

Krill, which grow to about 6 cm (2 inches), occur in vast schools and is the major source of food for whales, seals, penguins and sea birds. Without it, scientists say, the ecosystem in and around Antarctica could collapse.

But krill is rich in oil brimming in omega-3 fatty acids that Norwegian and Canadian companies sell in pills. The crustaceans are also harvested for special enzymes that can be used by surgeons to clean wounds, even to clean contact lenses.

And the pinkish remains after processing can be used as fish meal, for example to give salmon flesh a richer pink color.

So far, difficulties in processing krill on ships, high fuel prices and the expense of sending fleets to the bottom of the globe has kept a lid on annual catches, which remain far below levels set under a treaty governing Antarctic marine life.

But the economic equation is changing fast, scientists and fishery regulators say because of soaring food prices, falling global fish stocks and better ship-based processing technology.

Within five years, the annual krill catch could jump from just over 100,000 tonnes to several million tonnes.

"The potential of the krill story is that the competition for protein of whatever form is becoming more and more acute," said Denzil Miller, Executive Secretary of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), based in Hobart in southern Australia.