On a trip to Antarctica, I was surprised to see birds flying around barren mountains, 250 km (155 miles) from the sea, where there is nothing for them to eat.
It turns out that nesting snow petrels and Antarctic petrels fly all the way to the sea every time they want a meal, mainly shrimp-like krill, according to experts at the Norwegian Polar Institute. The other main bird species, skua, prey on petrel and chicks in summer and also fly to the sea to eat krill.
On the mountainside above the Norwegian Troll Station you come across snow petrels nesting under the rocks — one nest site we saw had three chicks mummified by the cold and a dead adult lying frozen nearby.
Researchers recommend that you don’t get too close to live snow petrels – they are skilled at throwing up a foul-smelling pinkish goo of rotten krill that takes weeks to clean off.
Out at sea, trawlers are set to bring more competition for the krill which can be used as fish feed or as a health supplement for humans rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.
Many experts say that there are hundreds of millions of tonnes of krill around Antarctica and that any catches by humans, now only about 120,000 tonnes a year, are a pinprick. But others say that people should be careful in exploiting a species that is the staple food for penguins, seals and whales, not to mention snow petrels.
What do you think?
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4 comments so far
I think the trawlers should be banned. The world’s fish stocks are at risk because of these factory ships and illegal harvesting. Its only a matter of time before the stocks are depleted, and the animals and birds dependent upon them for their survival are endangered.
- Posted by Anne[...] Reuters [...]
- Posted by Krill, snow petrel, Antarctica, Norwegian Polar Institute, shrimp, skua, chicks, Omega-3 fatty acids, penguin, seals, whalesIN THE FIRST PLACE WHAT IS SKUA AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? IS IT SIMALER TO KRILL?
NOELLE
- Posted by noelleHi Noelle, skua are birds — the ones flapping around in the photo.
- Posted by Alister Doyle