The campaign comes at a critical moment: last season, the industrial krill fishery reached its seasonal catch limit early for the first time, triggering an unprecedented early closure. This extraordinary development highlights the escalating pressure on krill populations and the Antarctic ecosystem already destabilized by climate change.

Industrial krill super trawlers operate primarily in an area between the South Orkney Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula region, an area scientists describe as one of the most important whale feeding grounds in the world, and a proposed marine protected area (MPA).

Krill — small, shrimp-like crustaceans — are the foundation of the Antarctic food web. Whales, penguins, seals, and seabirds rely on krill as their primary food source. Without sufficient krill, these species cannot feed, reproduce, or properly recover from past population declines.

On our first day back off Coronation Island, Sea Shepherd documented krill super trawlers hauling nets in the midst of feeding whales, with whale blows and flukes visible alongside active fishing operations.

Our crew also observed vessels conducting refuelling and transshipment operations at sea, practices that allow fleets to maximize time on the fishing grounds rather than returning to port, and which increase the risk that any fuel spill or pollution incident in these remote waters would go undetected and be far more difficult to contain or respond to.

Scientists warn that this industrial-scale krill extraction, combined with climate-driven sea ice loss, is increasing pressure on the entire Antarctic ecosystem.

Our three previous campaigns have already produced tangible impact. In 2025, global attention on industrial krill fishing and Sea Shepherd documentation contributed to British retailer Holland & Barrett’s announcement to stop selling krill-based products starting in April 2026, demonstrating that sustained public awareness can impact industry behavior.

Operation Antarctica Defense 2026 will focus on three objectives:

     1. Raising global awareness of the krill crisis by documenting krill super trawlers in Antarctic waters and enabling independent news reporting aboard the Allankay;

     2. Facilitating independent scientific research by hosting leading scientists to collect on-the-water data addressing critical knowledge gaps;

     3. Increasing economic pressure on the krill industry by encouraging retailers to discontinue the sale of krill oil supplements and other consumer products linked to Antarctic extraction.

Independent scientists onboard will conduct line-transect surveys, drone-based measurements of distances between whales and super trawlers, acoustic monitoring, and photo identification research. The goal is to generate multi-year, peer-reviewed data on whale presence and behavior in areas where the industrial krill fleet operates.

These research outputs are expected to inform future decision-making at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the international body responsible for managing fisheries in the Southern Ocean. 

CCAMLR has not yet established long-proposed Marine Protected Areas in the Antarctic Peninsula region, and a previous requirement to distribute krill catches more broadly across the region was not renewed in 2024, allowing fishing effort to become more geographically concentrated.

Sea Shepherd will provide regular updates throughout February and March as the Allankay operates in the Southern Ocean.

Learn more about Operation Antarctica Defense: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/our-campaigns/antarctica-defense/