The existence of Antarctic krill as the bottom of the Antarctic food chain can be said to feed most of the Antarctic animal population, including penguins, seals, whales and so on. According to incomplete statistics, the number of krill in the world is about 500 million tons, and 300 million tons are eaten every year, so people can't help but wonder why krill has not yet become extinct.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > krill not "shrimp"</h1>
Krill, although they have shrimp characters, are not the shrimp we think of. In terms of biological classification, krill belongs to the order krill, and the basal shrimp or shrimp we usually eat belong to the order of ten. Although they look very similar, if you look closely, krill is easy to identify. Because krill have a unique luminous organ. This is because they are an enzyme that is drawn from algae foods and then stored in this organ caused by enzymatic chemiluminescence. Other ordinary shrimp do not have.
Antarctic krill live mainly in shallow waters within 200 meters of sea level in Antarctica. They feed on marine plankton, such as diatoms, which are their favorites. In general, the adult shrimp are mostly 45-60 mm in size, and the largest is only 90 mm. They are a social organism, the number is huge, it is said that a group of krill has hundreds of millions, the density can reach 10,000-30,000 per cubic meter.
Due to the high level of fluoride in the carapace of krill, when the krill dies, it will quickly penetrate into the shrimp meat, so most krill are not suitable for direct consumption and need to be artificially processed to be safe to eat.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > China will be the biggest "dark horse"? </h1>
Because krill is very nutritious, high in protein, low in fat, and contains a variety of active substances, many countries have their eyes on it. As far as the development of Antarctic krill is concerned, it can be divided into three stages. The first stage was japan and the Soviet Union, which took the lead in mining, relying on advanced technology and superior geographical location. The Soviet Union had an absolute advantage, mining 93 percent of the krill population, compared with 7 percent of Japan. In 1983, 538,000 tons of krill were caught in Antarctic waters.
The second stage: after the collapse of the Soviet Union, all countries participated in the exploitation. Norway, one of the largest krill fishing countries, catches 100,000-200,000 tons a year. China participated in the commercial fishing of Antarctic krill in 2013, and the number of fishing vessels that were initially fished was 2, and slowly developed into 4-5. From 30,000 tonnes of catch in 2013, it reached 600 million tonnes in 2016.
In 2019, the first fishing and processing integrated vessel independently developed by China, "Deep Blue", was grandly unveiled, which has an advanced continuous pump suction fishing system and a fully automatic production line. Relying on advanced technology, in the future, the catch of krill in China is expected to exceed the 100,000 mark and become the largest mining "dark horse".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >Why are krill not extinct yet? </h1>
According to scientists' estimates, the current stock of krill is about 1 billion tons. With the development of fishing technology, the annual collection of krill in the country shows a gradual upward trend. Will Antarctic krill one day become extinct?
It will not become extinct for four main reasons. The first krill is extremely fertile. It is an oviparous organism that reproduces from both sexes. January to March is the best season for krill to spawn. It is said that a female krill can lay eggs 3-5 times a year, and the number of eggs laid each time is very staggering, about 6000-10000. Looking around, such a strong reproductive ability is very rare in this world.
The survival rate of the second larvae is high. We know that although some organisms are more reproductive, they are still endangered because of the low survival rate. Conversely, krill have a high survival rate, with basically every egg surviving. Why? This will benefit from a unique incubation process.
First, female krill lay their eggs in the shallow sea layer when laying eggs, and after spawning, the young eggs begin to sink from the shallow water layer to the deep sea. We know that deep-sea areas are generally not visited by large creatures like whales, so the young eggs are perfectly protected from predators. When the hatching is complete, the krill in the deep-sea region will go all the way up and back into the shallow water. When you grow up, you will lay eggs in the same way as your mother.
The third incubation time is shorter. Compared with other organisms, krill eggs can hatch successfully within 5 days, and after 1 month, they will grow into shrimp fourth with a rich food source. Because the ocean is abundant in numbers of plankton, krill don't have to worry about food shortages. If people's catch is controlled within a certain range, then on the whole, krill will reach a balanced state.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > summary</h1>
In recent years, the demand for krill has gradually increased. Although they have super reproductive ability, if they continue to develop at this rate, perhaps one day krill will also suffer extinction, and at that time, the entire Antarctic ecosystem will lose its original balance. So when we harvest krill, we must maintain the principle of moderation and moderation.
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