The Aker BioMarine’s Antarctic krill fishery has been recertified against the world’s
most robust standard for environmentally sustainable fishing.

A rigorous, third party assessment has shown that the Antarctic based fishery
continues to meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) demanding standards.
As a result, Aker BioMarine’s krill products, including krill oil, may continue carrying
the MSC ecolabel, identifying their origin from a sustainable source.

In order to determine the sustainability of the fishery, a team of independent
scientists and auditors considered all available science and reviewed the fishery’s
management practices against the MSC Fisheries Standard. Their analysis
confirms that Aker BioMarine is protecting the unique environment, habitats and
species living in the Southern Ocean.

The fishery first achieved MSC certification in June 2010. All MSC certified
fisheries must be completely reassessed within five years of certification. This
reassessment showed that Aker BioMarine not only continues to operate to the
highest standards of environmental sustainability, it has also improved its practices
and knowledge in order to better manage the fishery.

Improving fishing practices

Over the last four years Aker BioMarine has delivered three requirements set as
conditions of MSC certification. This has resulted in improvements in data
collection, better understanding of the fishery’s impacts on juvenile fish and
measures to reduce the risk of localised depletion of krill.
As a result, the assessment team determined that no further conditions of MSC
certification were required.

Precautionary catch levels

At current levels, Antarctic krill is one of the world’s most underexploited marine
stocks. Since 1994, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (CCAMLR) has set total allowable catch limits for the entire
Antarctic. Recognising the need to protect krill populations, which are a vital
source of food to other wildlife, CCAMLR has set trigger catch limits at one percent
of the total estimated biomass (620,000 tonnes).

Current krill catch in the fishery area (CCAMLR Area 48) represents around 0.4%
(212,000 tonnes) of the total krill biomass (60.3 million tonnes) and 34% of the
trigger catch limit. At these rates fishing has a minimal impact on predators and
other species in the food chain.

Protecting other species

Aker BioMarine has taken significant steps to protect other species living in the
Antarctic Southern Ocean. This includes using a bespoke “Eco-Harvesting”
method which has a fine mesh, monitored by underwater cameras, to prevent
anything larger than krill being caught. Recent research shows that bycatch of
juvenile species is around 0.2% of the total catch.