There is such a shrimp
Extremely small but extremely numerous
Their total amount adds up
Heavier than the overall weight of all humanity
In addition, the nutritional value is extremely rich
Simply natural food
They are Antarctic krill
Transparent shrimp, have you ever seen it
In fact, Antarctic krill is not a type of shrimp
It is a shrimp-like planktonic invertebrate
According to taxonomy
Antarctic krill is a krill family of krill
One of the thirty-one krill species contained in the genus Krill
We often eat kiwi shrimp grass shrimp
It belongs to the general order of true shrimp in the family P
Krill resemble small shrimps
Length 1-2 cm
Up to 7 cm
The body is transparent
The base of the appendages on the thorax and abdomen has spherical luminaries
Phosphorescence can be emitted
That's where its name comes from
Glowing Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill is very nutritious
High in protein and low in fat
Very rich in minerals
Contains a variety of active substances
Its proteolysates are rich in amino acids
Contains 8 essential amino acids needed by the human body
Amino acid molecular structure
By estimate
The total number of Antarctic krill is as high as 30 trillion
The total weight can reach 5-1 billion tons
There are so many krill
There are three main reasons:
The number of eggs laid by a female is as high as 10,000 per time
January to March of each year
It is the spawning season for Antarctic krill
Female shrimp can spawn multiple times in 1 spawning season
The average lifespan of Antarctic krill
Can reach more than 5 years
After hatching, the krill mature in a few months
Huge quantitative base
Huge amounts of eggs are laid at a time
Shorter maturation cycles
It is the most important reason to ensure that the total krill population remains stable
Antarctic krill is found in staggering numbers
secondly
After the krill have finished ovulating
The eggs and krill colonies are not together
It's about sinking
Hatch while sinking
When it reaches a depth of several hundred meters or even more than 1500 meters
The juvenile shrimp hatch
When you return to the upper layer of the sea again
Krill eggs have also grown into "teenagers"
Regroup with the krill herd
Collective foraging, activity and reproduction in the upper layers of the ocean
This unique way
Juvenile shrimp are greatly reduced
The probability of being swallowed up by predators and being caught by humans
Antarctic krill juvenile shrimp
Finally, it has to do with the life habits of krill
Krill's habits are the opposite of most predators
Antarctic krill colonies inhabit the depths of the ocean during the day
The amount of activity is very low
Only at night did groups go out in search of plankton for food
At this time, most predators are in a state of rest
This habit of krill
It is equivalent to a time difference between and natural enemies
It can effectively avoid the pursuit and devouring of predators
It is these favorable conditions
This makes krill face many natural enemies
It is also possible to maintain such a large number of groups
It's all Antarctic krill
Nutritious and huge amounts
This is not in marine life
It is an inexhaustible "gold mine on the sea"
80% of Antarctic fur seal recipes are krill
The Antarctic crab-eating sea lion bears the title of "crab eater"
But 98% of its food source is krill
Eighty percent of the food of Adlay penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula is also krill
The krill-loving gourmets also belong to various giant cetaceans of the baleen family
These behemoths can grow to more than 100 tons
They ate almost exclusively krill in their long careers
It can be said that it is these krill
It nurtures a variety of colorful marine life in Antarctica
Colorful marine life
Naturally, human beings will not miss the opportunity to mine this "gold mine"
Originally found by people fishing in Antarctica
Peel the fresh krill
Then boil it and it tastes no different from the general shrimp
But most krill are dead by the time they are caught
Unlike other shrimp species
Krill contain an autolyzymatic enzyme
Once dead
The protein in shrimp meat begins to decompose and deteriorate rapidly
It won't be long
It will spread a putrid smell
It's appetizing
Good looking but dead stink dead man
According to legend
Antarctic fur seals are famous for their bad breath thanks to Antarctic krill
Some researchers have measured it
Antarctic fur seals have 10,000 times more bad breath than dogs
How to store krill has become the biggest problem for fishermen
But soon the Japanese invented a set of steaming and freezing
Then peel the krill processing process
And it can be done in one go on a shrimp catching boat
After the problem of roughing is solved
The rest is the question of how to eat
It depends on the wisdom of the peoples of all countries
Good dish with wine Antarctic krill dried really fragrant
Today, the annual global production of Antarctic krill fishing has reached more than 500,000 tons
There are already 10 countries in the world sharing this cake
The first to catch the most was Japan and Russia
From the beginning of 2000 to the present
Fishing countries add south Korea, Norway, the United States and China
One of the most worth mentionings is Norway
The annual production of krill caught in Norway ranges from 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes
This production accounts for almost 50% of the global krill catch.
Although China only officially joined the Antarctic krill fishing army in 2013
Late to join
But catches are growing faster
From 30,000 tons in 2013
In 2016, it reached 60,000 tons
In 2019, China's independently designed and built "Deep Blue"
Become a new member of the Antarctic krill fishing army
"Deep Blue" prepares before going to sea
But there is a very important question:
Does krill fishing endanger the ecological balance of Antarctica?
After all, humans have made more than one mistake in Antarctica
In the 18th-19th centuries
Humans nearly wiped the Antarctic fur seals off the face of the earth
It is estimated that millions of Antarctic fur seals have been hunted
Early 20th century
Humans have also carried out exterminating killings of cetaceans in Antarctica
Antarctica's fin whale population drops to 20% before the whaling industry began
And the blue whale dropped to 1%
Serves as the main food for various marine animals in Antarctica
A sharp decline in krill populations
It is likely that this will lead to the complete collapse of the entire Antarctic ecosystem
You eat what do I eat?
Although in theory
The current catch quota is only 0.15% of the reserves.
The actual catch is only 1/3 of the limit
According to the current fishing
Antarctic krill will not be caught out of steam
Nor will it affect the ecological balance
But in 2019
From Alaska to Mexico
Large numbers of gray whales have died throughout North and Central America
It was the worst case of a cetacean fatality since 2000
According to Livescience
In total, more than 73 died
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) investigated and found it
Most of these gray whale carcasses lack adequate fat reserves
It is a manifestation of obvious malnutrition
This is directly related to the lack of food intake of gray whales
Krill is a high part of its diet
You can see it
Krill fishing has affected the survival of cetaceans and other animals
You can eat tens of thousands of Antarctic krill in one bite
Global warming has indirectly led to a decline in krill populations
Has been created of the Antarctic Peninsula
Adelaide penguins and cap-band penguins plummeted by 50%
This sharp chain reaction continues to develop today
So we look at krill
You can't just see the "gold mine" side of krill
Also see once the krill population is out of balance
A series of biological tragedies that will result