Today in Hobart, activists from Bob Brown Foundation have occupied the roof of the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic and Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) building as international delegates arrived for the start of the annual treaty meeting. A large banner has been hung above the building demanding that CCAMLR ban highly destructive krill fishing in Antarctica.
Bob Brown Foundation is calling on CCAMLR to enact its conservation mandate and ban krill fishing, which is responsible for the killing of whales as bycatch, declining penguin populations and falling whale pregnancy rates.
Large mobile billboards are also out the front of the CCAMLR building and around the city of Hobart, calling for an end to krill fishing and to close Antarctica to fishing at this critical time.
“Krill are the foundation of the Antarctic ecosystem, yet every year supertrawlers plunder krill from the mouths of whales and penguins to make products we don’t need. It’s time to protect Antarctica and the animals that live there and ban this destructive fishery,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine Campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.
“There are growing global voices calling for krill fishing to be banned. At this year’s United Nations Ocean Conference, an event focused on ending krill fishing was endorsed by world-famous ocean explorer Dr Sylvia Earle, actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, and scientists and environmentalists. CCAMLR must act now to protect the Antarctic ecosystem from these marauding krill supertrawlers.”
Australia can and should be leading the charge and proposing a ban on krill fishing at this year’s meeting. They must also block any attempts to increase the krill quota. The very same whales that swim up and down Australia’s coastlines are the same ones dying in the nets of krill supertrawlers that are plundering their food source. Australia is failing the Antarctic environment by allowing krill fishing to continue,” Alistair Allan said.
“Protecting krill, a keystone species and vital player in the carbon cycle, is essential for the health of the entire Antarctic food web and the overall resilience of the region against climate impacts. Prioritising conservation efforts is crucial to ensure the continued existence of this essential and unique environment for a liveable planet & for future generations.
“Krill fishing must end now!” said Jen Seccull, a retired farmer, from up high up on the roof.
