China Plans to Harvest Up To 2 Million Tons of Antarctic Krill, Alarming Scientists
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Press Herald] By Stuart Leavenworth - March 23, 2015 -
BEIJING, Scientists studying the Antarctic’s marine life received some unexpected news this month: China plans to vastly increase fishing for Antarctic krill – small crustaceans that are a critical food for the continent’s penguins and other creatures.
China currently harvests about 32,000 metric tons of krill annually from Antarctica’s waters, topped only by Norway and South Korea. Under China’s plans, detailed in a March 4 story in the state-run China Daily, the world’s most populous country would increase those catches 30 to 60 times, harvesting up to 2 million metric tons yearly.
Many conservationists are concerned that the Antarctic’s food chain is already being harmed by industrial-scale krill fishing.
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