Krill surveys in South Georgia conducted by fishery patrol MV Pharos SG
Frozen Krill
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Published Jul 22, 2022
Tridge summary
The second of six winter krill surveys in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is underway. The first winter krill survey was completed successfully on board the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands fishery patrol vessel MV Pharos SG in May this year.
Original content
The surveys are part of a Darwin Plus funded project to improve our understanding of how the krill fishery may affect the krill population and krill-dependent predators in South Georgia. Earlier this year, MV Pharos SG was fitted with a scientific echo-sounder so acoustic surveys can take place during the Antarctic winter, when British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research ships are in the northern hemisphere. The surveys are focused on an area to the north-east of South Georgia. In May, the ship covered 800 nautical miles of transects, which were repeated day and night to investigate how krill distribution changes. The acoustic surveys are combined with plankton nets to catch krill and monitor their condition, at-sea observations of seabirds and marine mammals, and satellite tracking of Gentoo penguins to understand more about potential competition between the fishery and the marine predators that rely on the krill for food. During the May krill survey, the vessel encountered numerous ...
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