Industry takes unprecedented step to drive Antarctic marine protection

NICE, FRANCE, June 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- (𝘕𝘐𝘊𝘌, 𝘍𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘌 – 12 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 2025)
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝗔𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 (𝗠𝗣𝗔𝘀) 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮, 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗣𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟳𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮.

The companies are committed to lead the industry and working with nations to achieve consensus for a proposed 455,957 km² Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Antarctic Peninsula at the 2025 Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting.
The proposed MPA, tabled by Argentina and Chile and developed over nearly a decade of scientific work in CCAMLR, would become one of the world's largest marine protected areas and represent a significant contribution toward the UN's 30x30 ocean protection goal. The initiative follows CCAMLR negotiations in October 2024, which ended without conclusions on new MPAs.

"This is about taking responsibility for the future of Antarctica," said Matts Johansen, Chairman of the Board at Aker QRILL Company and CEO of Aker BioMarine. "We believe that science-based management and genuine dialogue across nations can create progress. The industry is ready to act for conservation – closing off vast fishing areas with direct impact on our operations, but necessary for the long-term preservation and management of Antarctica. With this MPA, 12% of Antarctica is fully protected compared to 2,3% of oceans globally"

The industry's approach has included direct diplomatic engagement with key stakeholders. In May and April 2025, Aker QRILL Company representatives met with Chinese government officials, scientists, and industry leaders to discuss the MPA proposal, demonstrating that constructive dialogue remains possible independent of the broader global geopolitical picture.

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The krill fishing industry operates under the precautionary management framework established by CCAMLR in 1981. Current harvesting represents less than 1% of the estimated 63 million metric ton krill biomass in the Antarctic Peninsula area, with catch limits unchanged since 1991. The industry has already demonstrated its commitment to conservation through voluntary measures since 2019, closing 74,000 km² around vulnerable penguin colonies.
"The Antarctic krill fishery has always been managed with conservation as the priority," Johansen noted. "Now we're ready to take the next step – advocating for permanent protection of critical areas while ensuring sustainable, science-based quotas where fishing continues. We believe China is a key stakeholder to seek alignment with, and also a nation with vast volumes of Antarctic scientific data. As an industry, we listen to China and we have a good dialogue where we’ve had hugely fruitful conversations in Beijing and Qingdao that we want to build on”.
With the global population expected to grow by nearly 2 billion by 2050, the demand for sustainable food sources will only increase. The ocean must be part of the solution—but only if managed responsibly and the vulnerable ecosystems are protected through science-based approaches.

The proposed MPA combines elements from years of negotiations, addressing both conservation needs and sustainable fishery management. Red zones would be permanently closed to all extractive activities, while blue zones would have seasonal closures to protect critical breeding and feeding periods for marine wildlife.

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀
The industry initiative represents a novel approach to international environmental diplomacy, with private sector actors collaborating to advance conservation goals where traditional diplomatic channels have been stalled. The effort acknowledges that achieving consensus at CCAMLR requires engagement with all member nations, including those with different perspectives on marine protection.
The Antarctic krill industry's initiative aims to demonstrate that economic interests and conservation goals can align when guided by scientific evidence and long-term thinking. Success would establish a new model for industry-led environmental advocacy in international forums.
The 2025 CCAMLR meeting represents a critical opportunity to advance both conservation and sustainable use objectives in Antarctic waters, with industry support potentially providing the momentum needed to achieve consensus among the commission's 27 member nations.

𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵:
Tormod Sandstø
Director Communication
e: [email protected]
Aker QRILL Company
t: +4790943215

Tormod Sandsto
Aker QRILL Company
+47 909 43 215
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