Antarctic krill are the keystone prey species supporting whales, seals, and penguins, and their harvesting at scale raises critical welfare concerns for the entire ecosystem that depends on them.
Krill harvesting that depletes local prey availability forces penguin, seal, and whale foraging trips to become longer and less efficient. Penguin chicks waiting for food deliveries while parents travel further face starvation and cold stress. Whale welfare impacts from krill depletion accumulate invisibly across populations. The welfare case for precautionary krill management is based on the cascading effects on billions of sentient animals dependent on krill as their primary food source. Consumer choices around krill oil supplements have direct consequences for Southern Ocean ecosystem welfare.