Antarctic krill are a keystone species supporting whales, penguins, seals, and seabirds; industrial krill harvesting concentrated near penguin colonies raises significant welfare concerns for dependent predators.
Krill depletion near breeding colonies creates nutritional stress for dependent predators during their most energetically demanding period. Breeding penguins, fur seals, and other predators cannot travel beyond their foraging range while raising young; if krill are depleted within that range by fishing vessels operating in the same waters, animals must work harder for less food. Chicks and pups that receive inadequate nutrition grow slowly, are less able to survive weaning, and may starve. Adults in poor body condition have reduced breeding success in subsequent years. The welfare impacts are not from dramatic starvation events but from chronic nutritional stress spread across millions of animals. Management measures that redistribute krill fishing away from breeding colonies during sensitive seasons would directly improve welfare outcomes for some of the most charismatic and conservation-significant species in the Southern Ocean.