Humans are endangering the most abundant animal on the planet
Barely longer than your thumb, weighing under an ounce and nearly translucent, delicate crustaceans known as krill are vital to ocean ecosystems around the world. In the waters that encircle Antarctica, krill are an essential food source for penguins, baleen and blue whales (which can eat as much as four tons of krill per day), fish, seabirds, and other marine creatures. The health of these southern ocean species depends heavily on healthy krill populations.
But Antarctic krill are also increasingly sought after as a source of food for farmed seafood, livestock, and poultry. And although you probably won't find krill on the menu anytime soon, their omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients have made them popular for human consumption in the form of krill oil. Since 2010, the world catch of Antarctic krill has grown by about 40%.
While tiny, krill are considered one of the most abundant species in the world—their combined biomass is estimated to exceed that of all the people on the planet. But even though the supply of krill would seem inexhaustible, scientists are concerned what the combination of fishing and climate change (including ocean acidification) means for Antarctic krill and, in turn, for the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem.