Recent trends in the fishery for Antarctic krill

The fishery for Antarctic krill has been stable for a decade with approximately 100 000 tonnes being caught each year. There is continuing commercial interest in products derived from krill. An examination of patent databases indicates that the development of products for human consumption has been overtaken by the development of aquaculture, pharmaceutical and medical products. The development of products for aquaculture is most likely to be the factor that will drive growth in the krill fishing industry. Management of the Antarctic krill fishery has proceeded in advance of expansion and precautionary catch limits for Antarctic krill currently total 4.89 million tonnes similar to50 times the existing harvesting level. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS and Ifremer/IRD/Inra/Cemagref. All rights reserved.