Aker QRILL closes 2026 Antarctic krill fishing season

ANTARCTICA – Aker QRILL Company is concluding its 2026 Antarctic krill fishing season after vessels reached the precautionary harvest limit set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), with fishing vessels now preparing to leave the grounds.

The season continued later than in 2025, when the Area 48 krill fishery closed on 1 August after reaching its 620,000-tonne harvest limit.

In 2026, fishing activity was spread across CCAMLR Subareas 48.1 and 48.2, with vessels operating across a geographic range of about 1,000 kilometres.

Nearly 90% of catches in the Antarctic Peninsula were taken after 1 April, outside the penguin breeding season. 

Since 2019, Aker and the wider krill industry have voluntarily closed around 74,000 square kilometres of buffer zones around penguin colonies to fishing between 1 October and 15 March.

“Where fishing takes place is an important part of how the krill fishery should be managed,” said Webjørn Barstad, CEO of Aker QRILL Company.

“This season provides another useful real-world evidence that the fishery can operate across a wide geographical area, and the closing proves that the system works. We will use that experience as CCAMLR develops the next generation of krill management.”

Krill’s role in the aquafeed supply chain

The company said the krill fishery has a role to play as global aquaculture production grows and supplies of traditional marine ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil remain constrained.

Krill is used in aquafeed and other animal nutrition applications, including as a source of marine proteins, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients. 

Aker QRILL said responsible development of the resource is particularly important as demand for marine ingredients increases.

The closure follows the FAO’s 2026 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, which described Antarctic fishing areas as a “global benchmark for precautionary, ecosystem-based fisheries management”. 

The report rated all 15 stocks assessed in the region, including krill, as biologically sustainable.

Around 11 krill vessels operated during the 2026 season across CCAMLR Area 48, which covers approximately 3.5 million square kilometres. 

The 620,000-tonne trigger level represents around 11% of CCAMLR’s 5.61 million-tonne precautionary catch limit for the area.

Aker QRILL supports a proposed 455,000-square-kilometre Marine Protected Area around the Antarctic Peninsula, alongside a modernised krill management approach that would distribute catches across smaller management units and adapt fishing activity over time and space.

“The responsible solution moving forward should now be to build that distribution into the management system rather than relying on annual variations in krill abundance and fleet behavior,” Barstad said. 

“That means protecting large and important areas while establishing a science-based management system for the areas where fishing can be further developed.”

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