KRILL FISHERY REPORT: 2011 UPDATE

So far this season (2010/11), twelve vessels from Chile, China, Japan, Korea, Norway and Poland have fished for krill in Area 48. The total catch reported to May 2011 was 110949 t, most of which has been taken from Subarea 48.2 between February and May. Approximately 55% of the catch has been taken by two vessels using the continuous fishing system. The forecast total catch of krill for the season falls in the range 153000-214000 t. In 2009/10, 10 vessels fished for krill in Area 48 and reported a total catch of 211974 t; three vessels used the continuous fishing system. For the first time, the catches of krill approached the apportioned limit for Subarea 48.1 (25% of the trigger level: 155000 t) and the subarea was closed to krill fishing during the remainder of the season on 10 October 2010 (153262 t). A total of 85764 t of krill was taken from SSMU APBSW (Antarctic Peninsula Bransfield Straight West), 37650 t from APBSE (Antarctic Peninsula Bransfield Straight East) and 17295 t from APDPW (Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage West). The remainder of the catch for that season was taken predominantly in Subarea 48.2, notably 48444 t from SOW (South Orkney West). The catches of krill reported from SSMUs APBSE, APBSW and APW in 2009/10 were the highest catches reported from those SSMUs in the history of the fishery. The daily catching capacity of vessels in the fishery has increased markedly since 2003/04, with vessels using conventional trawls now capable of catching and processing up to 450 t of krill per day, and some vessels using the continuous fishing system have recently exceeded 900 t of krill per day