In Antarctica, in addition to the penguins, seals, sea lions, etc. that we often hear about, there is a more special species called Antarctic krill.
According to incomplete statistics, the reserves of Antarctic krill are about 650-1 billion tons, and the annual catchable amount is 150 million tons, in the face of such a huge amount of food in Antarctic krill, countries around the world have begun to look at this "fragrant food".
<h1>Antarctic krill. </h1>
Antarctic krill is a krill family, and does not belong to the shrimp class, because lobsters, pair shrimp, etc. belong to the decapod order, and krill belongs to the krill genus of krill in arthropods, so krill and shrimp are cousins.
Antarctic krill is very small, the general length is between 45-60 mm, the largest krill is only 90 mm, 2 grams of weight, from the size of the point of view, this small shrimp rice should live in the river water around us.
But in fact, they are located in the Antarctic waters of the Antarctic Ocean, and live in groups, the density can reach up to 10,000-30,000 per cubic meter, because the krill body in many places have spherical light emitters, from a distance it looks like a photosphere or light belt up to several hundred meters long, which is very spectacular.
Antarctic krill use tiny phytoplankton as a daily food source, lifespan of about 6 years, is one of the most fertile and population species on the earth, also known as the "sea gold mine", has a very important role in the Antarctic ecosystem.
Krill has a high use value. In the entire Antarctic ecosystem, it can be considered that Antarctic krill single-handedly feeds the huge Antarctic biological population.
Due to their super fecundity and extremely short growth cycle, Antarctic krill are one of the most fertile and population-rich species on Earth, providing an important food source for whales, seals, fur seals, penguins, albatrosses and other birds.
In addition, Antarctic krill contains very high nutrient content, including low fat, minerals and 8 kinds of amino acids needed by the human body, etc., and is the organism with the highest protein content.
At the same time, krill is also an important raw material in many pharmaceutical, food, chemical fields, so krill resources are considered to be very valuable for development, but also known as "the last protein resource library of mankind", "the largest protein library of the earth" and other titles, has become the "fragrant food" that countries are scrambling to grab, and now countries around the world attach great importance to the acquisition and utilization of krill marine resources.
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<h1>Development of Antarctic krill. </h1>
The first stage was the rise, with the main participants being Japan and the Soviet Union.
At that time, Japan and the Soviet Union were relatively technologically advanced, and the location relied on the sea, so the main fishing countries at that time were Japan and the Soviet Union. Japan accounted for only 7% of the krill population, and the Soviet Union accounted for 93%.
Later, the 1983 harvest set a precedent and record for krill catches, with 538,000 tonnes of krill caught. However, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Japan became the first fishing power.
In the second phase, multi-country participation, Norway became the largest krill fishing country.
After entering the new century, Japan can not be the first fishing power, South Korea and China have also begun to become internationally important krill fishing countries, the most powerful fishing power has become Norway, its fishing volume reached 100,000 tons to 200,000 tons.
<h1>China could become the biggest beneficiary. </h1>
In the beginning, China had only one vessel used to fish for krill, playing only a small role in the fishing of krill, and in 2015, China added four more vessels.
In addition, on May 14, 2020, China's independently developed deep blue steamship also joined the Antarctic krill fishing team, the total length of the deep sea is 114.88 meters, the width is 21.60 meters, the depth is 12.5 meters, can carry 99 crew members, and the total tonnage is as high as 7800 tons, which greatly improves the number of krill fishing.
But starting in 2018, the world's five largest Antarctic krill fishing companies signed a ban on fishing in sensitive Antarctic areas, which will stop fishing for krill. For the huge number of "deep-sea gold" krill, China has the potential to be the biggest beneficiary.
Antarctica is a "borderland", and all countries in the world are qualified to develop and utilize it, but in the face of such rich krill resources, we must use Antarctic resources reasonably and effectively without destroying the ecological environment.