MIAMI (AP) — Officials have shut down early the remote krill fishery near Antarctica after trawling for the tiny crustacean — a vital food source for whales that also helps fight climate change — exceeded the seasonal catch limit for the first time.
The unprecedented early closure of the fishery follows a report by The Associated Press last week detailing a record surge in the krill catch after a longstanding conservation framework was allowed to lapse with no plan in place to handle growing pressures in the world's southernmost fishery.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, the international organization that manages the fishery, declined to comment but confirmed the closure earlier this month of the 2024-25 season, which should have extended until December, after fishing hit the 620,000 metric ton limit.
The U.S., Russia, China and two dozen other governments last year failed to approve a new management plan that would have mandated spreading out the area in which krill can be caught and create a California-sized reserve along the environmentally sensitive Antarctic Peninsula.
In the absence of a deal, industrial trawlers were allowed this season to essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats preferred by whales, penguins and seals. In one hot spot, the catch through June 30 was nearly 60% higher than all of last season’s haul, according to an internal CCAMLR report obtained by the AP.
Krill is one of the most abundant marine species in the world, with an estimated biomass of 63 million metric tons. But advances in fishing, climate change and growing demand for krill’s Omega-3 rich oil – for fishmeal, pet food and human dietary supplements — have increased pressure on the krill stocks. In the 2023-24 season, a fleet of 12 trawlers from mostly Norway and China caught 498,350 tons of krill — until now the largest harvest since CCAMLR began collecting catch data in 1973.
Underscoring the competition between humans and whales, three humpback whales were found dead or seriously injured last year in the long, cylindrical nets deployed by the vessels to vacuum up the paper-clip sized crustacean.
Krill aren’t just vital to marine ecosystems. Increasingly, researchers are focusing on their role as a bulwark against climate change. One peer-reviewed study found that krill remove from the atmosphere and store in the ocean 20 million tons of carbon annually. That’s the equivalent of taking off the road 5 million cars every year.
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This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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FILE - A jar of krill sits on a lab counter at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, Va., on May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file)
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party voted Sunday to dissolve after more than 30 years of activism, marking the end of an era of the Chinese semiautonomous city 's once-diverse political landscape.
Democratic Party chairperson Lo Kin-hei said about 97% of members' ballots were in support of its liquidation and it is the best way forward for its members.
“Yet as the times have shifted, we now, with deep regret, must bring this chapter to a close,” he said.
Lo earlier said the decision to move toward disbandment was made based on the current political situation and social climate. But party veterans told The Associated Press that some members were warned of consequences if the party didn’t shut down.
Its demise reflects the dwindling freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China’s rule in 1997.
China imposed a national security law in June 2020, following massive anti-government protests the year before, saying it was necessary for the city's stability. Under the law, many leading activists, including the Democratic Party's former chairs Albert Ho and Wu Chi-wai and other former lawmakers, were arrested.
Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was also charged under the law. Lai will hear his verdict on Monday. Apple Daily was one of the vocal independent outlets shut down over the past five years.
Dozens of civil society groups have also closed, including the second-largest pro-democracy party, Civic Party and a group that organized annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
In June, the League of Social Democrats, which had remained active in holding tiny street protests in recent years, announced its closure, citing immense political pressure.
The Democratic Party, founded in 1994, was a moderate opposition party that pushed for universal suffrage in electing the city's leader for decades. Prominent party members include Martin Lee, nicknamed the city’s “father of democracy,” Ho, former leader of the group that organized Tiananmen vigils, and journalist-turned-activist Emily Lau.
It once held multiple legislative seats and amassed dozens of directly elected district councillors who helped residents with issues in their households and municipal matters. Some of its former members joined the government as senior officials.
Its willingness to negotiate with Beijing led to its proposal being included in a 2010 political reform package — a move that drew harsh criticism from some members and other democracy advocates who wanted more sweeping changes.
As new pro-democracy groups grew, the party’s influence declined. But when the 2019 protests swept Hong Kong, the party’s activism won widespread support again.
During Beijing's crackdown, the Democratic Party has turned into more like a pressure group. Electoral overhauls that were designed to ensure only “patriots” administer the city effectively shut out all pro-democracy politicians in the legislature and district councils.
The party pressed on by holding news conferences on livelihood issues. It even submitted opinions on a homegrown national security legislation before it was enacted in March 2024.
Earlier this year, the party decided to set up a task force to look into the procedures involved in dissolving itself, and its leadership secured members' mandate to move closer to this goal.
FILE - Signage is displayed at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)
