You won’t see krill on a seafood menu.
That strikes me as odd, since humans are one of the few seafaring critters who don’t eat the half-inch, shrimp-like munchy. Fortunately for those who do, krill are astoundingly prolific and thrive in ocean environs around the world.
And that’s good because I’m guessing the many blue whales and humpback whales we have off the West Coast require very large tonnage of these tiny, tasty invertebrates to fill their huge maws and monstrous tummies.
Besides whales, numerous fish and birds depend on protein-rich krill to get them through their physically demanding lifestyles. Krill serve as a staple in the diets of many of the fish we depend on for our own dinner tables. We need plenty of krill out there for all critters, and new regulations are being put in place to protect them — from us, anyway.
A surprisingly proactive piece of fisheries management is being implemented to protect this precious ocean resource before we learn to depend upon it for aquaculture, bait and maybe even just protein meal.
We have no commercial krill fisheries off of our coast, meaning that the socioeconomic impact of this management act (unlike implementation of overly large and numerous Marine Protected Areas) is acceptable.
According to the regulation, to be implemented Wednesday, no krill fishery will be allowed within either state waters or U.S. waters extending to 200 miles offshore. This is wise and timely fisheries management.
Krill is fished commercially in other parts of the world. My hope is that our proactive regulatory action will inspire fisheries managers worldwide to follow our good example.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help.
