The Expansion plan for the Antarctic krill fishing without strict guardrails poses a significant threat to the survival of Baleen Whales with its fragile comeback risking to be halted or even reversed.

• Along the Antarctic Peninsula, the fishing industry has proposed increasing the catch limit fourfold, from 155,000 tons to 668,101 tons annually.

About Baleen Whales

• Also known as Whalebone Whales, they are marine mammals of the parvorder Mysticeti Family which use baleen plates (or “whalebone”) instead of teeths to hunt.
  • Baleen whales evolved from toothed whale ancestors.
• Family: There are 14 species of baleen whale  grouped into four families. The number, size and colour of the baleen plates are unique for each whale species.
  • Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales)
  • Balaenopteridae (rorquals)
  • Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale)
  • Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale)
• Size: Baleen whales range in size from the 6 m (20 ft) and 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) pygmy right whale to the 31 m (102 ft) and 190 t (210 short tons) blue whale (the largest known animal to have ever existed)
• Baleen Plates: The whales have baleen made of the protein Keratin instead of teeth using which they  filter, sift, sieve or trap the whales’ favourite prey ie. shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea inside their mouths
• Filter Feeders: Most baleen whales use a strategy called Lunge Feeding or Skim-Feeding ie.  targeting large, dense swarms of krills by opening their mouth wide enough to take as many krills before closing  their jaws. 
  • They then force the seawater out through the bristly baleen plates in their mouths filtering the krill from the water.
  • Whales on an average feed for roughly 100 days out of each year with  an adult whale consuming one to six tons of krill in a day.

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• Migratory Species: Most species of baleen whale migrate long distances from high latitude waters (Arctic and Antarctic) during spring and summer months to more tropical waters during winter months. 
  • Example: The Gray Whale has the longest recorded migration of any mammal, with one traveling 23,000 kilometers (14,000 mi) from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Baja Peninsula
• Threats: 
  • Conflict with the Fishing Industry: The whales are competing with fishing boats for  their sole food supply  with  direct overlapping between foraging whales and active fishing operations being common.
  • Industrial Fishing for Antarctic krill:  These are tiny approx 6 cm long swimming crustaceans and the primary food source of the Baleen Whales
    • Antarctic Krills are being hunted for mainly use in 2 industries ie. fish meal for aquaculture, and omega-3 dietary supplements.
  • Entanglement: Whales can get caught in fishing gear, such as ropes, lines, nets, and aquaculture equipment.
    • Example: From 2021 through 2023, four humpback whales died after becoming entangled in krill fishing nets.
  • Commercial whaling: Though commercial whaling has been significantly reduced, it has had a lasting impact on baleen whale populations
    • Example: In the 20th century, whalers killed roughly 2 million large whales in the Southern Ocean.
  • Noise: Anthropogenic noise sources from ships and oil and gas development can disrupt whale communication and hearing, making it harder for them to feed, breed, and migrate.
• Protection: 
  • International  Whaling Commission (IWC): The IWC has a moratorium on commercial whaling, and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) prohibits the commercial trade of certain species. 
  • The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources: The organisation is required to ensure that whales and other krill-dependent populations are not harmed due to fishing in the Southern Ocean.
  • World Wildlife Fund (WWF): The WWF’s Protecting Whales and Dolphins Initiative works to protect whale habitats, document critical areas, and establish sanctuaries. 

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