IIt was frigid on the deck of the Alankai, and Captain Luca Massari made sure we all didn’t wear contact lenses before descending into Antarctic waters. He warns that there is a risk that the lenses will harden on your eyes. Massari himself is well prepared for his surroundings. He wears thick goggles that make him look like an Olympic ski jumper.
Massari is a burly, heavily tattooed veteran of Sea Shepherd, an environmental group that campaigns against ocean development. His deck team is preparing to launch a small boat with Massari at the helm. The eight of us are wearing bright red drysuits, helmets and life vests. The average time a person can survive hypothermia in this wind-swept water is just five minutes.
I’m in the waters off Coronation Island in the South Orkney Islands. The Antarctic Peninsula is about 40 km (40 km) of jagged, glacier-covered mountain slopes, a day’s sail away. It’s about as isolated a place as you can get. But Sea Shepherd claims it is one of the most inaccessible and environmentally destructive factories on the planet.
Sea Shepherd refers to krill fishing, a small shrimp-like marine crustacean.Eufausia superba) They feed on plankton and are the main food source for large marine animals. They also have great commercial value in the ruby red fish oil capsules sold in health food stores and in the fishmeal used to give farmed salmon their pink color. The deal is worth more than $450m (£335m) per year.
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Alancay’s boss, Luca Massari, is a veteran of the environmental NGO Sea Shepherd. Photo: Alice Gregoire/Sea Shepherd
This transaction is legal and regulated by intergovernmental organizations. An annual quota (currently 620,000 tonnes) has been set, and ships in these areas compete with each other to grab the biggest and most lucrative share before the cap is reached.
The Antarctic ecosystem relies on krill, which is a basic food source for the region’s birds, penguins, seals, and whales. And there is evidence to suggest that krill fishing is already having a significant impact on the Antarctic food chain. A peer-reviewed scientific study by a consortium of American and German universities suggests that the number of krill in the ocean is insufficient to sustain existing whale populations and commercial fishing.
Other studies have shown that humpback whale reproduction is in decline, as are penguin species. Krill decline has other negative aspects for the environment. According to WWF research, krill is a “carbon storage powerhouse.” Less of them means more carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere.
The Alankai, which sailed for 34 days from New Zealand to Coronation Island via Argentina, is here to document the krill fishing.
Massari’s small boat carrying us receives permission from the Alankai’s captain to reach Antarctic waters and begins its slow descent. The winch is solid and the operator is experienced, but the boat still shakes when it hits waves. Soon, we are dwarfed by the 12 giant ships of the Krill Fleet, flying the flags of China, Chile, Norway, and South Korea. And there are also Ukrainian ships registered in Namibia.
About 620,000 tonnes of krill were trawled in Antarctica last year, but the record catch was halted simply because the trigger limit was reached. Statistics from the past few years show that Norway accounts for the largest share of the catch, followed by China. Most of the krill is caught in the waters around Coronation Island.
The landscape before our eyes is a surreal blend of nature and humanity. As they load 20 meters of pulsating green sausage-like nets filled with krill into the hold, albatrosses and hundreds of shearwaters with their distinctive black and white wings swoop in behind. The whale’s fluke, or tail, pokes out of the water and a baby penguin hops alongside like a butterfly.
Double Quote Moves to raise capture trigger limits risk irreparable damage to one of our planet’s last true naturesBaptiste Brebel, Alancay Chief Executive
Alankai’s crew consists of 16 men and 15 women from 12 countries. Most of them are volunteers. One is Lucy Connelly, an Australian deckhand who operates Massari’s small boat. “The smell of a krill fishing boat is like a stinky fish and chip shop,” she says.
As we drew closer, splashing with water, Connelly’s explanation became more and more apt. I regret not bringing a nose clip. Pong is exciting.
Sea Shepherd’s campaign has two phases. This is the first one. It’s a battle for attention. Scientists will then come to continue studying the impact of industrial fishing on Antarctic whales.
In this social media age, you need to create engaging content to get attention for any purpose. So Massari heads out and expertly maneuvers a small boat so photographers and videographers can capture footage.
The small boat climbed over the bluish iceberg and came within kissing distance of three Chinese-flagged ships. The main boat is Fu Yuan Yu 9199, a new Chinese factory ship that trawls krill, processes it into various products, and packs it for shipment on adjacent vessels. Fu Yuan Yu 9199 is 139 meters long, and as we rocked in its wake, a crane was carrying packed crates of krill meal. The third ship is a refueling ship that refuels China’s main ships.
Orange-clad workers on Chinese ships ignore us, but crews on other ships are conducting their own information campaigns. Two Norwegian supertrawlers, Antarctic Sea and Antarctic Endurance, unfurled banners with various messages, including “Congratulations on signing the High Seas Treaty,” “Science first,” and the address of a website run by Aker Biomarine, a company that supplies krill as an ingredient in health products.
The company’s website states that it “operates under the strict governance of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Catch limits are limited to less than 1% of the total krill stock… and all operations are monitored by independent monitors.”
The goal of Sea Shepherd’s latest campaign is to end all krill fishing in Antarctica, a monumental challenge given that CCAMLR is consensus-based. Member states, including those that trawl around Coronation Island, have been unable to reach agreement on conservation measures.
CCAMLR said in a statement: “At the Commission’s last meeting in October 2025, most members expressed an urgent need to distribute the catch to avoid overconcentration, but so far there is no scientific evidence suggesting a concrete threat to krill as a keystone species, or to the broader Antarctic marine ecosystem.” At that meeting, Norway proposed nearly doubling the induced fishing limit.
For Sea Shepherd, industry growth is outpacing the time needed to gather information to assess trade impacts. “In the absence of solid evidence to assess the ecological impact, pushing for higher induced fishing limits risks irreparable damage to one of the last true natural habitats on Earth,” said Alankai chief executive Baptiste Brebel. So they are using media and science in these frigid waters in a dual effort to avert what they believe is a tipping point for the region’s krill and the animals that feed on it.
Massari takes the boat back to the relative shelter of Alankai. Connelly attaches the winch and signals the pilot above to pull us up again. After hours of rocking around in a small boat, Arran Cay feels like solid ground.
Massari is excited about what the camera crew captured. “Every little boat trip supports our broader mission,” he says, taking off his goggles.
