Scientists test the waters for sustainable krill fishery in the Antarctic
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An entourage of 20 scientists are set to embark on a two-month expedition in Antarctica to ensure the sustainable development of a krill fishery in the region
The expedition aims to provide enough research to determine a krill catch limit for commercial fishing in a region that has not been fished for 25 years
To do this, the Research Vessel Investigator will depart from Hobart laden with new equipment to measure krill biomass at depths of up to 1500 metres
The findings will then be assessed by the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, who advocate for sustainable krill catching
Australian Antarctic Division
Australian Antarctic Program scientists will use a range of novel technologies to measure krill, during a ground-breaking voyage to the Southern Ocean that departs tomorrow.
Over the next two months the team on Research Vessel (RV) Investigator, operated by Australia’s science agency CSIRO, will use specially designed camera technologies, for the first time, to study krill and their environment; along with acoustics, trawls, predator observations, oceanography and genetics.
Voyage Chief Scientist, Dr So Kawaguchi, from the Australian Antarctic Division, said the team would determine how much krill (their ‘biomass’) live in waters off Mawson research station in East Antarctica, to ensure the sustainable development of a krill fishery in the region.