Russia and China have been sharing too much in recent months. The two countries have a common enemy and even carry out military maneuvers together. The Asian giant is carefully studying Russian techniques in Ukraine in case they have to do the same against Taiwan and, despite disputes caused by a chess game, the two powers are walking hand in hand.
The latest is an alliance between the two to bypass international restrictions on krill fishing in Antarctica. And it’s already causing the international community to raise an eyebrow.
The krill of the dispute. This small crustacean, similar to a miniature shrimp, is key in the diet of several species. They are on the menu for seals and penguins, but also for whales. So much so that there are some that – and this is a very bad sign – have traveled thousands of kilometers to be able to continue eating them.
However, it is also used for human consumption. For example, in food supplements thanks to the fact that its oil has a high concentration of both omega-3 and antioxidants. It is also a good bait in activities such as fishing and, especially in Asia, as food, generally in powder form to enrich other dishes.
Locks. The point of contention is because, as we read in The Guardian, it appears that China and Russia are collaborating to block the creation of new marine parks in Antarctica and relax current restrictions on krill fishing. These international agreements have been in force for decades to prevent overfishing that destroys large populations of crustaceans and, thus, try not to impact the fauna that depends on them.
The two powers used their right to veto, in a meeting in which the agreement that limits krill fishing was to be renewed, said renewal. It was during a meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources made up of 26 countries. And, evidently, the world cup has been set.
Historical setback. Tony Press is the former director of the Australian Antarctic Division and has commented that this decision has caused krill protection strategies that have been developed for almost 30 years to go backwards. He stated that it “sets a very bad precedent for the future.”
Lyn Goldsworthy is an observer on the commission, as well as a doctor at the University of Tasmania, and believes that “China has a long-term strategy to expand krill fishing in Antarctica.”
A Sea Shepherd boat approaching a krill fishing vessel to monitor its activity
Moving on from agreements. You may be wondering what all the fuss is about if fishing is allowed. The reason is that the commission established rules in 2009 to limit annual krill fishing in four areas adjacent to the West Antarctic Peninsula. The capture of 620,000 tons per year is allowed and is known as measure 51-07.
This establishes that no more than 45% of the catch can be taken from any of these areas so that the species has enough time to regenerate between seasons. The objective of the meeting was to renew that measure, but China refused, and Russia supported the refusal.
China expands fishing grounds. Goldsworthy commented that this goes beyond krill and that what China wants is to exert its influence in the region for geopolitical reasons, with a view to future exploitation. Russia’s role, according to her, is only to “disrupt the rules-based world order.”
It is a serious accusation because, basically, it is saying that Russia wants to annoy for the sake of annoy and to favor its ally, but the doctor complements the accusation by stating that Russia has “very little at stake” in krill fishing.
Catch record. To see Russia’s interest in this market, while countries like China and Norway have four krill fishing vessels and South Korea has three, Chile, Ukraine and Russia only have one. Additionally, both Chinese and Norwegian vessels use a method of constantly pumping krill from the nets to the vessel.
The committee seeks to fight overfishing, since it is being observed that countries are increasing catches. From 2014 to 2019, 266,000 tonnes were caught annually on average, leading some to call the measures a success. But from 2019 to 2023 the average was 415,800 tons, very close to that limit of 620,000 tons.
stop their feet. Other members consider the lack of support from certain countries to protect krill to be worrying, as “it is a step backwards that endangers krill, the ecosystems and predators that depend on it,” commented a spokesperson for the Australian Antarctic Division to The Guardian.
Press was not so restrained: “the fact that Russia and China worked together to undermine the commission’s work needs to be challenged diplomatically.” The biggest problem is that this same thing already happened a year ago and, from 2023 to 2024, absolutely no progress has been made.
maritime guerrilla. There are those who consider that the commission is too soft and the laws insufficient to protect the Antarctic ecosystem. One of these groups are Sea Shepherd activists – something like “shepherds of the seas” – who are dedicated to preventing the illegal actions that fishing vessels sometimes engage in.
What they denounce is not only the indiscriminate fishing of the crustacean, but also that the ships travel at a speed that is potentially fatal for the whales that are there looking for food and with which they may collide. They comment that “when a fishing vessel breaks a law, we can cut its nets and block operations. But when it operates legally, the law must first be changed.”
The problem is that there are no speed limits for huge ships to minimize damage to whales and that, unilaterally, there are countries that can skip the agreements, putting an entire ecosystem at risk.
Images | Jorge Cortell, Sea Shepherd
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