‘Very bad precedent’: China and Russia team up to undermine krill fishing restrictions in Antarctica

Conservationists warn actions and ambitions of two super powers could lead to overexploitation of vital food source for whales, penguins and seals

China and Russia are working together to block new Antarctic marine parks and loosen krill fishing restrictions, undermining a major international convention designed to protect the region from overexploitation, according to analysts and conservationists.

With the support of Russia, China reportedly used its veto rights at a meeting of the 26-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Tasmania to prevent the renewal of an agreement restricting krill fishing.

The two countries also blocked the declaration of four marine parks around the southern continent.

Experts said it reflected a push to resist and reverse environmental protections in Antarctica. Krill is an important food source for keystone species including penguins, seals and whales, and fishing restrictions have previously been backed by scientists and member countries to ease pressures on wildlife as the region is affected by global heating.

Dr Tony Press, a former head of the Australian Antarctic Division and adjunct professor at the University of Tasmania, said the precautionary principal that had been supported by countries at CCAMLR meetings for three decades had “gone backwards” at the meeting that finished last week. “That sets a very bad precedent for the future,” he said.

The commission has a rule restricting the annual krill take in four neighbouring zones around the west Antarctic peninsula to 620,000 tonnes a year. The four zones cover the west Antarctic peninsular, neighbouring waters in the Weddell Sea and around the South Orkney and South Georgia islands.

A separate rule, known as measure 51-07, says no more than 45% of that catch can be taken from any one of those zones. Countries at the meeting were seeking to renew that rule, in place since 2009.

Dr Lyn Goldsworthy, from the University of Tasmania and a longtime observer at CCAMLR meetings, said China had refused to support the renewal of 51-07 and been backed by Russia.

She said the Chinese government’s most recent five-year plan included an expansion of international fishing and the country had committed to building five new vessels to catch krill, four of which were almost complete.

“China has a long-term strategy. They have a directive to expand that krill fishery [in Antarctica],” she said.

Goldsworthy said China was also seeking to exert its influence in the region for geopolitical reasons, with an eye on future exploitation. She said Russia’s interest was likely part of a broader strategy to “disrupt the world’s rules-based order” as the country had “very little skin in the game”.

Press said other countries needed to resist. “The fact that Russia and China together worked to diminish that precautionary approach needs to be challenged diplomatically,” he said.

A May report from the commission on the krill fishery found 14 vessels were planning to take krill in 2024, including four ships each from China and Norway, three from South Korea and one each from Chile, Russia and Ukraine. China and Norway use a factory fishing method that continuously pumps krill from nets on to the vessel.

The fishery report showed the amounts taken in recent years were the highest on record. The annual average take of krill from 2019 to 2023 was 415,800 tonnes, compared to 266,000t for the previous five years.

An Australian Antarctic Division spokesperson said it had pushed for a system of marine protected areas, wide-ranging krill management rules and improved data collection and monitoring. They said the three elements were a “package deal” that should be adopted together.

“We will not consider increased catches for krill without the proper data collection and conservation measures in place. It was disappointing that some members were pushing for adoption of revised krill measures without any intention of agreeing to [marine protected areas],” they said.

“Most concerning though, was the failure of some members to support the extension of existing krill management measures while the harmonisation process is progressed.

“This is a backwards step for CCAMLR and puts krill, and the ecosystems and predators it supports, at risk.”

Guardian Australia approached the Chinese government for comment.

Cover photo: An Australian expert says China has clear ambition to fish more krill and exert its influence in the region, while Russia may have a more disruptive agenda. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy