Antarctic whales’ remarkable comeback is threatened by krill fishing

2026-03-27 - 07:09

Huge industrial trawlers are competing for krill – the main food source for whales – in the Southern Ocean, removing vital nutrients from the ecosystem • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here In Antarctica, one of our planet’s last great wildernesses, a remarkable comeback is taking place. In the very same waters of the Southern Ocean where whalers slaughtered more than 2 million whales during the 20th century, pushing a number of species to the brink of extinction, populations are recovering. Humpback whales have been the fastest to bounce back since commercial whaling was banned in 1986, and populations are nearly at pre-whaling levels. Blue whales, the world’s largest animal, have been slower. Fears net zero is ‘next Brexit’ as oil crisis fuels political climate divide US has caused $10tn worth of climate damage since 1990, research finds ‘Yes to fields of wheat, no to fields of iron’: how the world’s greenest country soured on solar ‘It smells like a rancid fish and chip shop’: at sea with the Antarctic’s krill supertrawlers ‘There’s biological treasure here’: Chile’s endemic seals gain protection with new marine park Surfing’s big break: how climate crisis insurance may save El Salvador’s waves Continue reading...