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Dear Dot,
I often see ads for krill oil. But I heard that overharvesting of krill is starving the penguins that feed on it. Is that true?
—Stephanie
The Short Answer: Monterey Bay scientists point out that “a very small proportion of the population is harvested to avoid any population collapse. Any indications that the populations are not doing well may be caused by environmental conditions rather than overharvesting.” In other words, climate change is the true culprit.
Dear Stephanie,
Many years ago, when Dot was a just-starting-out journalist, I made my way to the 14th floor of a Four Seasons hotel where I knocked on a door and was greeted by a penguin. I followed the penguin into the room and spoke to his keeper for a story, while the penguin padded about, ultimately settling in a half-filled bathtub. I’ve long forgotten the point of my story but I’ve never forgotten the hotel penguin, so elegant in his black-and-white.
Are there any cuter ambassadors for marine conservation than those flightless, tuxedoed comics of the Southern Ocean? Dot thinks not. And the thought that anything I do might be taking food out of their adorable little mouths breaks my heart. So … am I? Are we?
And besides those who are taking krill oil supplements, who’s eating krill? And why? Why are these tiny creatures so important?
Let’s start with the role that krill play in our ocean ecosystem. Krill, which means “whale food” in Norwegian, are plankton (though not all plankton are krill). They can grow to about the length of the space bar on your computer keyboard and live in swarms for up to five years. They make up almost the entirety of a blue whale’s diet — with about four tons of krill ending up in a whale’s stomach daily. While humans have a growing appetite for krill, including in supplements, the vast majority of harvested krill ends up as aquaculture feed and bait, and livestock and pet food. You will be glad, I’m sure, to know that alternatives to krill for these purposes are being encouraged.
But to address your concerns, Stephanie, I reached out to the folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Adrian Somora is the guy tasked with responding to pesky media folks like Dot, and he took your concerns seriously, responding with the Aquarium’s own 2021 Seafood Watch report, which noted that “In the U.S., krill oil is sold as a dietary supplement for human consumption, whole krill is used for animal feed, and krill meal is used in pet food.” Nonetheless, the report called Antarctic krill caught with midwater trawls a “Good Alternative,” because “the stocks are considered healthy.” The report does caution that “some uncertainties exist due to outdated data.” Even with that caveat, however, Somora notes that Monterey Bay scientists point out that “a very small proportion of the population is harvested to avoid any population collapse. Any indications that the populations are not doing well may be caused by environmental conditions rather than overharvesting.”
Megan Cimino, (who, among her many professional roles, is an adjunct professor in Ocean Sciences at UC Santa Cruz and a member of NOAA’s SWFSC Ecosystem Science Division), works directly with penguins, tagging them and carefully monitoring threats to their wellbeing. The largest krill fishery is in the Southern Ocean, where krill is harvested mostly for fish bait and agriculture feed. She concurs with the Monterey Bay folks that krill harvesting is currently at “precautionary levels,” but she notes that threats to populations are possible, and therefore, we must remain vigilant. But she also reports that, at this point, research indicates that warming waters are posing the gravest threat to krill populations — and therefore also to predator species, like our penguins, but also seals and whales, that rely on them. “The fishery impact is exacerbated by climate change, as the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth,” she says, noting that “declines in krill have also been related to warming.”
Ultimately, Stephanie, addressing the causes of climate change — primarily the burning of fossil fuels, but also our human appetite for meat and dairy (which contributes almost 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions) — are more pivotal to ensuring the viability of krill than reducing our consumption of krill itself.
So ease off the krill swilling health nuts in your midst, Stephanie. The penguins have nothing to fear from them. Instead, direct your ire toward the fossil fuel companies that keep dialing up the heat.
Flightlessly,
Dot
