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An Antarctic krill: history and prospects Fedor Litvinov, ATLANTNIRO senior research worker
There were many hopes to an Antarctic krill's protein. They have been spoken many about its boundless resources and great food value. The resources are really considerable and food value is quite a lot. But a fishery have arisen, have developed and sharply reduced in a one time, and is not on a high level now. Let's have a look into history for understanding this event and thinking of a future.
The beginning of world krill's fishery may be thought 1961-1962, when first three tonnes of krill were landed by fishing vessel RT-202 Muksun during research expedition. Firstly the fishery and its scientific substantiation were developed simultaneously. During 60-s the landings were insignificant, but elaboration of fishery instruments and krill's production have been made. Also have had been defined the places of its most concentration. FAO statistics have been made an attempts to observe the krill's world fishery, but the first data have been appeared only from 1970,evidence of Soviet fishery from 1972, and most sustainable statistic in 1975. Experimental fishery of krill have been continued till the end 70-s and in 1982 has reached of a record level 528699 tonnes, including 491656 tonnes or 93 % of world's. World's landings in Antarctic part of Atlantic reached 374080 tonnes including USSR 368182 tonnes or 98 % of world's in APA or 70 % of world's.
Japan begun its experimental fishery in 1972 only with later joining other countries, but the main part of landings have belonged to USSR and then to Russia practically till full stopping of native fishery in 1994.
The reasons of a sharp world and native catching reducing in 1983-1984 have been remaining unknown. Some authors consider it was a n influence there were some reasons such as a high percentage of fluoride, the difficulties of processing and Falkland's crisis. Some raise of landings was in 1985 and already in 1985 they were 445673 tonnes. On the picture 1 are shown the results of krill's landings till 1986. During 1986-1992 a world's krill's fishery had been stabilized at the level of 300-400 thousand tonnes with share of Russia and Ukraine 212-272 thousand tonnes or 70-73 % of a world's. In 1993 the landings of Russia and Ukraine were 10332 tonnes or 12 % of a world's. Within last years neither Russia nor Ukraine run a fishery.
During 1964-1999 ATLANTNIRO published 415 scientific articles, devoted to various aspects of investigation Antarctic ecosystem. These investigations of ATLANTNIRO including other research institutes were for a creation a scientific base for three kinds of resources: sea mammals, fishes and krill. It is obviously also, that oceanographic researches have had created a base for using under their fishery providing preparing.
Stopping of a native fishery and investigations could lead for losing of our positions in a region, which will be very difficult to restore in case of changing an economical situation in Russia for the better in future. So the main achievement ATLANTNIRO investigations of krill and Antarctic ecosystem in a whole could be considered the creation of a scientific and prognostic base of a krill's fishery.
CCAMLRM activity and krill's fishery modern state
The krill's fishery so as and other living resources in Antarctic zone is regulated by Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLRM), except whales and Pinnipedia. Convention was ratify in 1980 and is considered acting from 1982 after first CCAMLRM session. There are the next 23 members of the CCAMLRM nowadays: Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany, EU, India, Spain, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, USA, Ukraine, Uruguay, France, Chili, Sweden, Republic of South Africa, Japan. Some countries are the members of the Convention but not the Commission. They are Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Greece, Holland and Peru.
Commission manage by the affairs of the Convention with its constant Secretariat in Hobart (Australia) on the Tasmania island. Commission has a Scientific Committee (SC-CCAMLRM) with some working groups in it. Two working groups are working constantly now: Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment ( WG-FSA) and Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management ( WG- EMM). WG-EMM was established in 1994 by an amalgamation of two existed Working Groups on Ecosystem Monitoring and on Krill.
The jurisdiction of CCAMLR spreads to a territory of approximately 32,9 million square km. In 1991 at the 10th session was adopted the first measure on krill's resources preservation and was established a precautionary limit 1,5 million tonnes of world catching in South Atlantic sector during from 1st July to 30th of June of the next year. But this limit could be reviewed by CCAMLR on recommendation of the Scientific Committee. It i9s expected the change of the precautionary figure in accordance of the international scientific expedition results, which is planned at the beginning 2000.
After the USSR breakdown and stopping a fishery by Russia and Ukraine a world's krill's landings is 100 000 tonnes annually including Japan 63413 tonnes, Korea 1621 tonnes, Poland 15312 tonnes, Great Britain 634 tonnes for the 1997/1998 fishery season.
Japan had been planned its fishery 1998/1999 season at the former level with a catching of 60000 tonnes by four trawlers. Korea expected to conserve its landings at the level of 2000 tonnes as and Great Britain with a limitation by winter and summer periods. USA intended to begin krill's fishery in September 1998 with one vessel.
Under these staying fishery tendencies it is obviously, that a world's catching hardly will raise having precautionary limit within nearest one or two years. But there are elaborates nowadays in a field of biotechnology and pharmaceutics on base of a krill's raw material. It is known also that biological activity of krill's protein as a food product is more high of shrimp's, which breeding in Asia. That is mass breeding in aquaculture was one of obstacles for krill's food products penetration to world's market.
In 1996 was a First Indian Antarctic expedition. Its published materials have a data about krill's biochemical composition and other characteristics of all kinds its products for the practical use. According to regularly information received Australia, Canada, China, Panama, Chili, Ukraine are going to start a krill's fishery soon.
Russian prospects for the krill's fishery renew nwdays under arising demand on a world's and internal markets are not very high due to losing or becoming old-fashioned of special fleet, catching instruments, technologies and equipment. And as it seems, a scientific potential is the only not losing factor of fishery development, which was a base for the world's krill's fishery development for about forty years ago.
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