Scientists with the Australian Antarctic Program are back in Hobart, Tasmania, having shed new light on the krill populations that underpin marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean.
The scientists studied krill super-swarms, the scale of which they had never previously encountered, and monitored the krill predators that included 1,400 whales and hundreds of seals and penguins.
Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley said the Australian Antarctic Program research on the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Research Vessel, Investigator would help protect this critical species from over-harvesting.
She said the research would be used directly by international bodies, such as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, in addressing long-term impacts on the ecosystem.
“The importance of understanding and protecting krill populations cannot be overstated and at a time when commercial krill fishing is looking to expand into new areas, this research will play a critical role in ensuring sustainable catch limits,” Ms Ley said.
The voyage’s Chief Scientist, So Kawaguchi said the use of novel technologies enabled pioneering projects to be undertaken.
“We anchored three special cameras and echo sounders on a range of different seabeds, where they’ll record krill at depths of up to 1,500 metres over the next year or so, including when covered by ice during winter, Dr Kawaguchi said.
“This will give us completely new information.”
He said that for the first time, scientists were able to deploy the new camera system designed to provide a three-dimensional krill’s-eye view of their swarms in the Southern Ocean.
“We found a krill super-swarm that was 3,200 metres long, 300 metres wide, and 100 metres thick, the size of which I’ve never encountered before in my career,” Dr Kawaguchi said.
“Now our challenge is to turn all this data into a reliable estimate of krill biomass in this region.”
