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96 | RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND INVOLVEMENT

THE ANIMAL FUND
From krill to cetaceans,

a fragile balance

The Animal Fund, a loyal Monaco Ocean Week participant, returned with

a new public education event on the decline in krill, which play a key role
in the marine food chain and in locking away carbon in the ocean.

A conference warning of the pressures threatening Krill are a primary food source for species like seals,
krill, a vital species for ocean health, was held by The penguins, marine birds and whales, the latter of which
Animal Fund (TAF) on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at plays a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance (by
the Novotel in the presence of HRH The Princess of fertilising waters, boosting photosynthesis, storing
Hanover. carbon, etc). “Our goal is to highlight the critical need
to end krill overfishing before irreversible damage is
done”, warned biologist Berit Legrand, Founder and
KRILL, AN ESSENTIAL LINK IN President of TAF. Amid mounting calls for a temporary
THE OCEAN, UNDER THREAT ban on krill harvesting, she stressed the need for
sustainable fishing practices informed by more
Marianne Helene Rasmussen, a marine biologist and extensive scientific research into the ocean’s complex
Director of the University of Iceland Research Centre in biogeochemical processes. The conference was a
Húsavík, founded in 2008, reported a sharp decline in chance to draw global attention to the importance of
krill biomass due to overfishing and dramatic changes krill and to call for precautionary measures.
taking place in the world’s oceans. Rasmussen cited
rising sea temperatures, acidification and the shrinking This event provided an excellent opportunity to
of the tiny crustaceans’ habitat: “The southern limit broaden the general public’s understanding of the
of Arctic krill has shifted northward, but the northern causes of biodiversity decline and its impact on
limit is restricted by ocean currents and the polar humankind. As ever, The Animal Fund stressed the
front, causing an overall loss of habitat and decline in crucial role played by whales, whose main food
numbers.” The krill population in the Antarctic shifted source is krill, in supporting biodiversity.
southward during a recent period of warming in their
primary habitat, a phenomenon already noted in the
IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere
in a Changing Climate in 2019.

Scientists are also alarmed by the recent boom in krill
fishing, particularly in the spawning grounds of the
southern Antarctic. Soaring demand for krill from the The Animal Fund (TAF) was founded in 2015 and
aquaculture, food and cosmetic industries is putting has offices in five countries (Monaco, France, UK,
the entire marine ecosystem at risk, particularly in Denmark and Norway). It champions the cause of
polar waters. marine animals around the world.