SKEG (SCAR Krill Expert Group)

SKEG logo graded colour web

Antarctic krill play a vital role in the Antarctic food web, providing a major part of the diet of larger species such as whales, seals, penguins and fish. They are also commercially fished in the Southern Ocean and used in the production of fish food, animal feed and human dietary supplements.  But even after almost 100 years of research into krill, our understanding of their life history, seasonal spatial dynamics, and response to climate change, is largely unknown. These data gaps limit our ability to predict krill population shifts, according to projected climate change scenarios for the Southern Ocean, an important aspect for krill fisheries management.

The SCAR Krill Expert Group (SKEG) seeks to:

  • improve our understanding of krill biology and ecology;
  • serve as the primary conduit between the wider krill scientific community and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which manages and monitors the Antarctic krill fishery;
  • provide a forum to guide research directions, encourage information exchange and dialogue between krill researchers, fisheries and society;
  • promote collaboration within the krill community with emphasis on early-career researchers.

SKEG members come from a wide range of institutions, including the CCAMLR Secretariat, universities, national laboratories, NGO’s, and industry.

About

SKEG provides a forum to guide research directions, promote collaboration, improve understanding of krill biology and ecology, and thus assist in providing critical scientific information relevant to krill fishery management. Furthermore, since ship time for krill fieldwork is becoming more scarce, the group provides a forum for information exchange on upcoming cruises and funding opportunities, as well as laboratory facilities for experimental krill work, and serves as a platform for the development of future international collaborative research proposals and programmes.

SKEG interacts with, and provides essential input to existing SCAR groups, such as Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean (ICED).

Background and History

Recent findings on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) have demonstrated that, even after almost 100 years of research on this species, there remain crucial gaps in our understanding of its life history, response to climate variability, spatial dynamics, and the environmental mechanisms that drive variability of its life cycle throughout the Southern Ocean. At the 3rd International Krill Symposium (3iks held in St Andrews, UK, in June 2017), it was identified that, despite recent scientific advances in this field, the scientific community and the public still hold onto many outdated perceptions about krill from the 1980s or earlier. Given multiple changes occurring in Southern Ocean ecosystems, and because of the prominent role of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean, it is crucial to highlight the areas where knowledge is lacking, reconsider the current methods used, and develop new approaches to krill research.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. The Commission was created in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, but there is no longer a krill working group within CCAMLR. The CCAMLR Scientific Committee has emphasised the need for a mechanism to better incorporate the relevant science being done on krill into CCAMLR, and thus the SCAR Krill Expert Group (SKEG, formerly the SCAR Krill Action Group) aims to become the prime conduit between CCAMLR and the wider krill science community.

Aims and future activities

SCAR Krill Expert Group (SKEG) will:

  1. Assist and inform CCAMLR of the latest scientific knowledge on krill biology and ecology to improve management decisions for the krill fishery.
  2. Identify fundamental gaps and possible new research directions for krill research.
  3. Function as a conduit for the wider krill community outside CCAMLR to access opportunities for research and collaboration, including that with the commercial krill fishing operators.
  4. Interact with, and provide input to, existing SCAR groups, to improve our understanding of Southern Ocean ecosystems and the impacts of climate change thereon.

News and updates from the krill research community.

The Krill Reader – newsletter of the SCAR Krill Expert Group

 

Members

Contact

The leaders of the SCAR Krill Expert Group are Bettina Meyer (Chair) and So Kawaguchi (Vice-Chair).

SKAG Board

Chairs
Dr Bettina Meyer Alfred Wegener Institute
Dr So Kawaguchi Australian Antarctic Division
Krill Research and related management
Dr Simeon Hill British Antarctic Survey
Dr Angus Atkinson Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Communication and Outreach
Dr Ryan Driscoll Alfred Wegener Institute
Zephyr Sylvester University of Colorado Boulder
Kim Bernard Oregon State University
Fishing Industry coordinator or liaison
Dr Javier Arata Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies
CCAMLR Science representative
Steve Parker CCAMLR Science Manager

Resources

Publications, Data and Links of interest to the krill research community.

Publications
Links