Antarctic Peninsula · South Orkney Islands · Active Operation
Exposing
The Krill Fleet
Industrial supertrawlers are draining the food supply every whale, penguin, and seal depends on. Sea Shepherd has been on these waters for decades.
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Edge of the World: Krill Crisis
Sea Shepherd returns to the Southern Ocean to expose an industry wiping out the base of the food chain.
EPISODE 1
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Antarctic Peninsula · South Orkney Islands · Active Operation
The Industry Stripping the Food Web
Krill are the foundation of everything alive in the Southern Ocean. Industrial fleets are extracting them at a scale that is destabilizing the entire ecosystem. The pressure is accelerating.
The Stakes
Not a New Fight. A New Threat.
Sea Shepherd spent more than a decade in Antarctic waters confronting the illegal Japanese whaling fleet. That campaign ended in victory. These waters are not unfamiliar ground.
The threat has changed. Where harpoons once decimated whale populations, industrial krill supertrawlers are now stripping the food those recovered populations depend on. Multiple fleets operate in the same waters where humpbacks and fin whales feed, competing directly with them for the same prey.
In 2025, the fishery hit its seasonal catch limit early for the first time on record. Extraction has reached a critical threshold. In the same season, one whale was confirmed killed in a krill trawl net. Climate driven sea ice loss is compounding the pressure on krill populations from both sides.
Primary Zone
Gerlache Strait
One of the most important whale feeding areas. Proposed protections have faced repeated opposition at international bodies.
Active Front
South Orkney Islands
An established MPA exists here, and krill effort concentrates in nearby feeding areas where whales and seabirds forage.
Sea Shepherd documentation in 2025 contributed to Holland & Barrett's decision to stop selling krill based products beginning April 2026. Proof that on the water evidence can change industry behavior.
What Threatens It
🦐
Industrial Krill Extraction
Supertrawlers haul krill by the hundreds of thousands of tonnes annually from the same feeding grounds used by humpbacks, fin whales, penguins, seals, and seabirds. Remove the krill, and the entire food web collapses.
🐋
Direct Whale Mortality
Krill nets operate in active whale feeding areas. One whale was confirmed killed in a trawl net in 2025. The actual toll of entanglement in these remote, unmonitored waters is likely higher.
🌡️
Climate Compounding
Sea ice loss is already reducing krill habitat. Industrial extraction on top of climate pressure creates a double squeeze that krill populations cannot absorb indefinitely.
🚢
At Sea Transfers
Fleets refuel and transfer catch at sea, allowing them to stay on the fishing grounds for longer periods without returning to port, maximizing extraction and minimizing oversight in some of the world's most remote waters.
🛡️
Blocked Protections
Proposed protections for key feeding areas have been repeatedly blocked by nations with commercial krill interests at international governance bodies.
What Sea Shepherd Does
📡
Fleet Documentation
Tracking, photographing, and filming supertrawler operations in whale feeding grounds and building the evidentiary record for policy change.
🔬
Whale Research
Supporting a 30 year photo ID whale population study on board, navigating through active trawler operations to continue long term scientific baselines.
🌐
Global Alliance
Coordinating with Sea Shepherd Global and international partners across Germany, Switzerland, and others for the largest combined Antarctic campaign to date.
⚖️
Policy Advocacy
Using on the water evidence to advocate for permanent protections for key feeding areas at international bodies.
TAKE ACTION
SMALL CHANGES. MASSIVE IMPACT.
1
Expose the Industry. Share the Facts. Push Back Against Krill Exploitation.
Industrial krill trawlers are stripping life from the Southern Ocean — stealing food from whales, penguins, and every species that depends on this fragile ecosystem. Visit our toolkit to expose the truth behind this destructive industry. Learn how these ships operate, who profits, and how you can help stop the collapse of Antarctica's food chain. Knowledge is power — use it to defend what's left.
Open Toolkit2
Skip the Pills Made from Whale Food. Choose Algae-Based Omega-3 Instead.
To disrupt the demand driving industrial krill fishing, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has partnered with Ashlan & Philippe Cousteau to promote SEAVOIR, their algae-based Omega-3 supplement. By choosing SEAVOIR, you protect marine ecosystems and support Sea Shepherd's vital campaigns in Antarctica. A portion of every purchase fuels the fight to safeguard our oceans.
Purchase Now3
Put Our Crews on the Frontlines. Power Direct Action at Sea.
Support the crew exposing this destruction in real time. Your donation keeps our ships on the water, fuels high-impact campaigns, and strengthens our push for protections all around the world. With your help, we can confront the krill industry and defend the species that depend on this fragile ecosystem.
Donate Now
