Angolan minister calls for end to Antarctic krill fishing ahead of African conference

Angolan fisheries minister Carmen Neto dos Santos has urged African nations to use their diplomatic power against the escalating industrial exploitation of Antarctic krill.

In an opinion piece for South African online publication IOL ahead of the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, she argued that halting this fishing is essential for global climate stability and the health of Africa’s marine ecosystems.

Antarctic krill serve as a vital component of the Southern Ocean’s food web, supporting species like whales, penguins, and seals. However, international fleets — primarily from Europe and Asia — are intensifying extraction efforts, not for global food security, but to produce aquaculture feed, pet food, and supplements, she said.

The economic consequences for Africa would be direct. Humpback whales, which rely on these krill populations, migrate along the coasts of Angola, Namibia, Gabon, and South Africa, supporting regional whale-watching operations.

“African nations can no longer remain observers while one of the planet’s last great wildernesses is being opened to escalating industrial exploitation by a handful of companies,” said dos Santos.

Neto dos Santos also criticized the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Despite its mandate to safeguard these waters, the body has failed to establish new marine protected areas for nearly a decade, with industrial interests frequently outweighing conservation efforts, she said.

Last year, proposals to double current catch limits stalled due to a lack of consensus among the 27 member states. Representatives from both China and Norway are in talks with diplomats from CCAMLR member states as they look to expand the Southern Ocean krill fishery at this year’s October meeting.

In 2026, as reported by Undercurrent, total krill catches are expected to reach the 620,000-metric-ton catch limit for the second time, after last year’s bumper harvest triggered an early closure of the fishery in August.

Aker QRILL Company’s chief commercial officer, Kenneth Fredriksen, told Undercurrent: “This fishery can increase quotas without compromising sustainability; krill is the biggest biomass in the world, and it’s currently being harvested at 1% of the documented biomass, which is extremely low — far below any other sustainable requirements for other fisheries.”

“We’re looking at agreeing on raising these quotas within still best-in-class sustainability measures, potentially increasing the quotas from 1% to 2%,” he said.