SUSTAINABILITY. OUR FOUNDATION

Our mission

Aker BioMarine believes in a world where all have access to quality nutrition and good health without compromising the future of our planet. 

Before we deployed our very first midwater trawl in the Southern Ocean, we started a dialogue with WWF-Norway to ensure that our operations would have low impact on the Antarctic ecosystem. 

Ambitious goals are essential to overcoming the global challenges that will impact — and drive — the future of our business: loss of biodiversity, resource scarcity, lifestyle disease threats, and climate change. 

We intend to be part of the solution to these challenges. Our Eco-Harvesting technology that minimizes bycatch and marine conservation practices are making vital improvements. As a producer and supplier of marine ingredients, our daily responsibility is to improve people’s health without compromising the health of our planet and its oceans. 

Part of the solution

We have decided to be part of the solution to these challenges, and act every day as an environmentally responsible producer of marine ingredients. 

Aker BioMarine has partnered with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) and WWF-Norway to establish the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund (AWR). The fund's purpose is to facilitate and promote Antarctic marine ecosystem research. Since its inception, AWR has funded nine research projects that will improve the management of the fishery for Antarctic krill. Aker BioMarine has committed to supporting the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund (AWR) with USD 1 million over a period of five years.  

In a united krill industry drive, Aker BioMarine is promoting effective sustainability practices through the Association of Responsible Krill Harvesting Companies (ARK). In 2018 ARK adopted its Voluntary Penguin Buffer Zones to protect penguins during their breeding season - later in 2020 enhanced to encompass a permanently closed area on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.  

In 2020, Aker BioMarine received its third consecutive certification with no conditions from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for its sustainable Antarctic krill fishery following an independent assessment. The company was initially certified in 2010, being the first krill company ever to carry the MSC label. 

For the sixth year in a row, the Antarctic krill fishery received an “A” rating for its well-managed fishery from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). The independent report states that the fish stocks are listed in “very good condition,” and the Antarctic krill fishery in the Atlantic Southern Ocean is once again singled out as being particularly well-managed.

Harvesting far below the limit

Antarctic krill is one of the most abundant marine biomasses on the planet and Aker BioMarine is a key contributor to the monitoring of the krill biomass on different scales through our presence in Antarctica. In 2019, in close collaboration with industry and science, we made possible the multinational large scale biomass survey to be carried out, from which the results later adjusted the total biomass up to 63 million mt krill in the area of and around the Antarctic Peninsula.

Compared to other fisheries monitored by FAO where precautionary catch limits are commonly set to 10% or more, the total allowable krill catch is limited to less than 1% of the stock biomass, leaving more than 99% of the biomass for krill feeding predators. 

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) uses a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach designed to prevent krill harvesting that will have a negative impact on a harvested species or other species in the ecosystem. All of our catches are reported to CCAMLR and harvesting is restricted to a specific region of the Southern Ocean called Area 48. The management of the fishery is robust, as the consensus of 25 governments is needed to change any of the fishery regulations in the Antarctic. 

When doing more is just right 

Ensuring the well-being of the krill biomass and the Antarctic ecosystem is our top priority. We are committed to being a force for good in Antarctic management through best practices, precautionary actions, and contributions to science and monitoring. We will continue to work actively to protect ecosystems, reduce our industrial footprint, and contribute to future healthy and sustainable nutrition systems. That is why we have introduced and committed to new and ambitious sustainability goals towards 2030.