Question

please help!

Should the harvesting of krill in the Antarctic region continue to be restricted, or should fisheries all over the world be allowed to harvest krill at any rate they choose?

Answer 1

Yes it should be restricted. Whales need to eat too. Krill are a type of shrimp-like marine invertebrate animal. There are around 86 species of what can be described as krill. Regardless of the species, these small crustaceans are important organisms of the zooplankton, particularly as food for baleen whales, manta rays, whale sharks, crabeater seals, and other seals, and a few seabird species that feed almost exclusively on them. Another name is euphausiids, after their taxonomic order Euphausiacea. The name krill comes from the Norwegian word krill meaning "young fry of fish," which is also often attributed to other species of fish. Krill occur in all oceans of the world. They are considered keystone species near the bottom of the food chain because they feed on phytoplankton and to a lesser extent zooplankton, converting these into a form suitable for many larger animals for whom krill makes up the largest part of their diet. In the Southern Ocean, one species, the Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba, makes up an estimated biomass of over 500 million tons, roughly twice that of humans. Of this, over half is eaten by whales, seals, penguins, squid and fish each year, and is replaced by growth and reproduction. Most krill species display large daily vertical migrations, thus providing food for predators near the surface at night and in deeper waters during the day.