The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention) entered into force, creating the legal basis for CCAMLR to manage Southern Ocean fisheries using an ecosystem approach. This matters for krill because it set the core rule that harvesting must consider impacts on the whole food web, not only the target species.
CCAMLR held its first Commission and Scientific Committee meetings, starting the routine of annual science advice feeding into management decisions. Early work focused on understanding krill and fish populations and the wider ecosystem, building on large international surveys already underway.
CCAMLR established the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) to track changes in key predators (such as penguins and seals) that depend on krill. CEMP was designed to help distinguish changes caused by fishing from changes caused by environmental variability, supporting ecosystem-based krill management.
CCAMLR adopted krill catch rules that included a 620,000-tonne “trigger level” for Area 48 (the Southwest Atlantic sector). The trigger was meant to prevent concentrated fishing from causing local ecosystem harm, by requiring tighter, smaller-area limits if catches rose beyond that level.
A major multinational acoustic survey (the CCAMLR-2000 Krill Synoptic Survey) was carried out in January–February 2000 across Subareas 48.1–48.4. Its goal was to improve estimates of pre-exploitation krill biomass that feed into models used to set sustainable catch limits.
CCAMLR adopted Conservation Measure 91-03 to protect the South Orkney Islands southern shelf as a marine protected area (MPA). This was a major step toward spatial conservation in a krill-dependent ecosystem, complementing catch limits with area-based protections.
CCAMLR subdivided the 620,000-tonne trigger level across Subareas 48.1–48.4 through Conservation Measure 51-07. These subarea caps were meant to spread fishing pressure and reduce the risk that local predator colonies would be affected by heavy krill removals in a small area.
After analysis of the CCAMLR-2000 survey, CCAMLR set a precautionary catch limit for krill in Area 48 of 5.61 million tonnes under Conservation Measure 51-01. However, CCAMLR kept the lower 620,000-tonne trigger level as the practical limit until finer-scale allocation and management could be agreed.
CCAMLR agreed the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area under Conservation Measure 91-05. Although not a krill-fishery control for Area 48, it was a major milestone for ecosystem monitoring and biodiversity protection under CCAMLR, reinforcing the use of MPAs alongside fishery measures.
The Ross Sea region MPA came into force, putting agreed spatial protections into operation. Its research and monitoring focus supported CCAMLR’s broader goal of conserving biodiversity and key ecosystem processes, including those tied to krill as prey for many predators.
A new large-scale synoptic survey of krill in Area 48 was conducted during the austral summer of 2019, designed to be comparable to the 2000 survey. CCAMLR reported a biomass estimate of about 62 million tonnes for the Atlantic sector from this survey, feeding into ongoing discussions about future management.
CCAMLR did not reach consensus to extend Conservation Measure 51-07, and it expired at the end of the 2024 fishing season. From the 2025 season onward, the Area 48 fishery kept the overall 620,000-tonne trigger limit but lost the agreed subarea distribution intended to reduce local ecosystem risk.
During the 2024–25 fishing season, reported catches reached the 620,000-tonne trigger level for Area 48 for the first time, prompting an unprecedented early closure. The event highlighted the tension between rising fishing capacity and CCAMLR’s need for updated spatial and ecosystem safeguards based on monitoring and science advice.
CCAMLR krill research and ecosystem monitoring (1982–present)