Environmental changes and overfishing have seriously damaged the spawning grounds of fish in China's coastal waters. Fishermen joked that "the East China Sea has no fish", and other sea areas are also "not what they used to be." Ocean fishing has become a new direction of China's fishery. As a treasure trove of earth resources, Antarctica has an astonishing reserve of fishery resources and is the most ideal ocean-going target. As an emerging ocean-going country, China's self-designed "Deep Blue" ocean-going research vessel is the largest and most advanced fishery processing and fishing integrated vessel in the world.

However, we are not the only ones staring at Antarctic resources. With the depletion of global fishery resources, traditional powers such as Europe, America, Japan and Russia all regard Antarctica as their most important strategic resource. This point can also be reflected in the data on international fishery disputes. With the maturity of my country's distant water fishing technology and the implementation of policies such as subsidies for distant water fishing, after 2010, China's distant water fishing companies have experienced an average of more than one international fishery dispute per month.

Among the many resources in Antarctica, Antarctic krill is the most important part. Antarctic krill are invertebrates that live in clusters, sometimes with a density of 10,000-30,000 per cubic meter. Because it grows in the unpolluted polar regions, Antarctic krill escaped the early development of human beings, and still contains a huge amount. It is the largest renewable biological protein pool that humans have proven so far. It is conservatively estimated that the biomass of Antarctic krill is about 600-1000 million tons, and the annual catchable amount is about 100 million tons, which is equivalent to the total annual marine biological catch in the world. In the context of the general decline of global fishery resources, the development of Antarctic krill resources has become an important strategy for all countries.

In this article, let's learn about Antarctic krill together. Let's see what kind of creature is Antarctic krill and how big is the reserve? Why will it become a strategic resource for all countries. And how does China stand out from the encirclement in the distant water fishery and obtain the Antarctic resources it deserves.

1. Antarctic krill

Antarctic krill is a kind of zooplankton belonging to Arthropoda, Crustacea and Krill order living in the Southern Ocean. Its body length is generally 3-5 cm, the body color is transparent, and the whole body has reddish-brown spots. This kind of krill, which feeds on phytoplankton, is actually the most important link in the Antarctic biological chain, and it is the cornerstone of the Antarctic biological chain.

(1) Fluorescence

Luminescence is the most important characteristic of Antarctic krill.

Antarctic krill has a unique fluorescent organ, which emits a yellow-green light every 2-3 seconds, and its brightness is similar to that of a flashlight. Biologists have studied why Antarctic krill glow, but have yet to reach a definitive conclusion. Some biological hypotheses suggest that these lights can obscure the shadow of Antarctic krill and "invisible" from predators. Other biological hypotheses suggest that these lights are important for mating or nocturnal gatherings.

2) cluster

High-density clusters are another important characteristic of Antarctic krill.

Antarctic krill is a type of krill that lives in the waters of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. They are shrimp-like invertebrates that live in clusters, sometimes with a density of 10,000-30,000 per cubic meter. They feed on tiny phytoplankton, from which they convert primary energy into bioenergy. They are the key species of the Antarctic ecosystem. In terms of biomass energy, they are probably the most successful animal species on earth (conservatively estimated at least 500 million tons).

The "Melville" survey ship of the United States once discovered a giant krill group of more than 10 million tons, which is the largest marine biota discovered so far.

(3) Life span

Longevity is the third important characteristic of Antarctic krill.

Generally speaking, the lifespan of ordinary shrimp is about 1 year, but the lifespan of Antarctic krill can reach 6 years. Adult Antarctic krill is 6 cm long, transparent all over, and has reddish-brown spots all over the body, which is very beautiful.

2. The value of Antarctic krill

The nutritional value of Antarctic krill far exceeds that of common high-nutrition meat such as prawns, fish, and beef. If simple quantification is done, the protein contained in every 10 krill is equivalent to the nutritional value of 200 grams of roast meat. In Japan, the female krill that has conceived eggs is considered to be the most delicious crustacean, and more than half of the Antarctic krill is directly eaten by people.

(1) Amazing reserves

For humans, the amazing reserves are the fourth important feature of Antarctic krill. Biologists discovered that there are 1,000 kilograms of Antarctic krill in the stomach of a blue whale, which shows the huge reserves of krill resources.

Antarctic krill is by far the largest renewable biological protein pool discovered by humans. It is equivalent to twice the annual catch of marine aquatic products in the world. Note that is renewable. Antarctic krill can lay more than 11,000 eggs per female, and can be harvested after two years of maturity. Under the background that traditional fishery resources can no longer meet the needs of human beings, such reserves are becoming more and more precious.

According to the statistical results of the "Investigation of Biological Resources Reserves in the Southern Ocean", the conservative estimate of the reserves of krill resources in the Southern Ocean is 600 to 1 billion tons. In addition to the annual consumption of Antarctic krill by various fish, seals, whales, seabirds, and penguins in the Southern Ocean and the number of their own metabolic deaths, humans can also catch 0.6 to 100 million tons of krill resources in the Southern Ocean every year. amount, but has no effect on the balance of the biological chain in the Southern Ocean.

(2) High nutritional value

Antarctic krill is a huge protein pool of marine resources. Although Antarctic krill is small in size, it is low in fat, high in protein, rich in mineral elements, and has high nutritional value. By wet weight, Antarctic krill meat contains 17.56% protein, 2.11% fat, 2.36% ash and 77.26% moisture.

Antarctic krill muscle contains a lot of crude protein, and the crude protein content in muscle dry sample exceeds 64.44%.

The carapace of Antarctic krill contains about astaxanthin, which is a kind of carotenoid and has strong antioxidant activity. It has the effect of preventing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, enhancing immunity, and even losing weight.

Antarctic krill is rich in mineral elements, mainly including phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iron and so on. Zinc is known as the "flower of life" and is closely related to the growth and development of the human body, immune defense, and wound healing. Phosphorus and calcium are important components of human bones.

Antarctic krill is also rich in biologically active substances, and has a powerful enzyme system in its body that can degrade various proteins. Due to the unique living environment and lifestyle of Antarctic krill, it has become a marine organism of great interest in the field of pharmacology.

(3) Wide range of uses

In addition to being eaten directly, Antarctic krill has a wide range of uses. Shelled krill shrimp can be used as food additives. Whole shrimp are used as animal feed and as excellent fishing bait.

Through the advanced microbial fermentation transformation method, not only protein, lipid and chitin can be extracted, but also environmental pollution caused by chemical extraction can be eliminated. Discarded shrimp shells can also be used as raw materials, and as the main component of microbial fermentation, they are inexhaustible and inexhaustible.

Antarctic krill also has strong research value. Due to the unique living environment in the polar regions, Antarctic krill has a powerful enzyme system, which is an excellent sample for pharmacology research.

In July 2022, the "Deep Blue" ocean-going fishing and processing ship independently designed by China successfully set sail. The "Dark Blue" has a total length of about 120 meters, a molded width of 21.60 meters, and a draft of 7.3 meters. It can operate in an environment with an ice thickness of 0.8 meters and a low temperature of -25. It is mainly used for fishing in the Southern Ocean, focusing on processing Antarctic krill resources, and taking into account the function of marine scientific research. The ship is equipped with the world's most advanced variable water layer trawling system, girder continuous pumping system and multiple automatic processing lines for products. Its single-vessel daily output can reach 600 tons, breaking through many key technologies of large-scale fishing and processing vessels, and filling the gap in China's construction of large-scale modern fishing and processing vessels.

In the future, China still needs to increase the development of the Antarctic fishery field, focusing on the following aspects to form industrial breakthroughs, and strive to develop into the world's top ocean-going fishery country.