Pacific leaders have called for further attention to the protection of Antarctic krill and the wider marine ecosystem in the final declaration of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum, placing the connection between the Pacific and Southern Ocean on the region’s collective diplomatic agenda.
The language, adopted after leaders met in Koror from 31 August to 3 September, followed a concern about migratory humpback whales raised by the Tongan Prime Minister, Lord Fakafanua. These whales breed and give birth in Pacific waters, but depend on Antarctic feeding grounds during a key part of their life cycle.
“Leaders acknowledged the Kingdom of Tonga’s concern regarding the protection of migratory humpback whales, noting their ecological connection between the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Leaders recognised that their protection requires attention across migratory corridors, including to the impacts of climate change and called for further attention on the protection of Antarctic krill and the wider marine ecosystem,” stated the Forum's final communiqué.
The communiqué does not prescribe specific policy measures, but gives Pacific governments a shared basis to engage more actively in Antarctic marine governance, where decisions affecting migratory species are made by the 27 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Pacific Island countries do not have a seat in those negotiations.
During the Forum, PM Lord Fakafanua, argued that Tonga can protect humpback whales only while they are in its waters. Their survival also depends on access to krill in the Southern Ocean. He called for Antarctica to become a greater priority for Pacific diplomacy and the establishment of long-delayed marine protected areas in Antarctica, all steps toward putting an end to krill fishing in the Southern Ocean.
There have been calls from other countries outside CCAMLR for a greater voice in decisions about the Southern Ocean. In June, during the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, Angola’s Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Carmen dos Santos, called on African leaders to demand an end to industrial krill fishing. She linked the health of Antarctica to African food security, coastal livelihoods and economic resilience, and highlighted humpback whale migrations along the coasts of Angola, Namibia, Gabon and South Africa.
Together, these interventions challenge the idea that decisions about Antarctic wildlife concern only the states that govern and exploit the Southern Ocean. They claim the right to participate in the governance of the Southern Ocean for countries connected to Antarctica through whale migrations, ocean circulation, climate regulation and coastal economies.
Pressure ahead of the October negotiations
The Pacific Islands Forum’s statement comes after the Antarctic krill fishery reached its annual 620,000-metric-tonne management threshold early for the second consecutive year. The fishery closed on 12 August 2026, months before the season traditionally ends on 30 November. The same happened for the first time in 2025.
The annual catch threshold set by CCAMLR is not, by itself, a guarantee that wildlife has enough krill in the places and at the times it needs it. CCAMLR’s spatial catch limits that distributed fishing effort across four areas expired in 2024, allowing catches to become more concentrated near important feeding grounds around the Antarctic Peninsula and South Orkney Islands. Climate change and declining sea ice are also adding pressure to the same ecosystem.
The Our Antarctica campaign is urging Pacific governments, and CCAMLR Members from other regions, to carry the Forum’s concern into the Commission’s annual meeting in October. The campaign is calling for the establishment of long-delayed marine protected areas, including the Domain 1 Antarctic Peninsula Marine Protected Area, and reforms that put CCAMLR’s conservation mandate first, as steps toward an end to industrial krill fishing in the Southern Ocean.
Why Antarctic krill matters
- Antarctic krill is central to the Southern Ocean food web. Whales, penguins, seals, seabirds, fish and squid depend on it.
- Krill supports climate regulation by consuming carbon-rich phytoplankton and transporting carbon into deeper water.
- Humpback whales that feed in Antarctica migrate to breeding grounds across the Pacific, Africa and Latin America.
- The krill fishery supplies largely non-essential products including aquaculture feed, pet food and dietary supplements - for all of which tried and tested non-krill alternatives already exist.
Facts Only
* Pacific leaders called for further attention to the protection of Antarctic krill and the wider marine ecosystem at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum.
* The discussion followed concerns raised by the Tongan Prime Minister about migratory humpback whales.
* Humpback whales breed in Pacific waters but depend on Antarctic feeding grounds during a part of their life cycle.
* Leaders acknowledged the ecological connection between the Pacific and Southern Ocean regarding migratory whales.
* Leaders called for attention to the impacts of climate change concerning migratory corridors.
* Leaders called for further attention on the protection of Antarctic krill and the wider marine ecosystem.
* The communiqué provided a shared basis for engaging in Antarctic marine governance with CCAMLR members.
* PM Lord Fakafanua argued Tonga can protect humpback whales only in its waters and survival depends on Southern Ocean krill access.
* Calls were made for the establishment of long-delayed marine protected areas in Antarctica and an end to krill fishing in the Southern Ocean.
* The Antarctic krill fishery reached its annual 620,000-metric-tonne management threshold early for the second consecutive year.
* CCAMLR’s spatial catch limits expired in 2024, allowing catches to concentrate near feeding grounds.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative establishes a dynamic tension between localized concerns and vast, interconnected global systems, specifically using migratory species and resource management as leverage points for geopolitical influence. The argument pivots on challenging the established boundaries of governance: those currently defined by the CCAMLR structure versus the broader ecological reality connecting the Pacific to the Southern Ocean. The invocation of humpback whale migration serves not just an ecological link but a strategy to assert a right to participation in Antarctic governance, positioning coastal communities and nations as stakeholders whose survival is tied to distant resource management. The focus on krill—a key food source, a climate regulator, and a commodity—introduces the complexity that environmental protection cannot be divorced from economic realities. A critical pattern emerges regarding the structure of authority: external actors (like Angola’s Minister) challenge the established CCAMLR mandate by asserting rights based on interconnected ecological flows, suggesting that decisions about Antarctic wildlife should incorporate broader regional, climate, and coastal economies rather than being confined to the managing body itself. The underlying implication is that sovereignty in this context must be redefined to include responsibilities for transboundary ecosystems and migratory dependencies, forcing a re-evaluation of who has legitimate authority over the Southern Ocean based on connectivity rather than just territorial claims.
BRIDGE QUESTIONS:
How can international governance structures like CCAMLR be reformed to incorporate non-state actors or geographically connected regional bodies when decisions impact shared migratory corridors? What mechanisms exist to translate broad ecological concerns about krill and climate into enforceable policy changes within Antarctic management frameworks for Pacific Island nations? What role should scientific data on ecosystem health, rather than political positioning, guide the negotiation of resource limits in the Southern Ocean?
Sentinel — Human
The text functions as a solid journalistic report weaving together diplomatic concerns, scientific context, and calls for policy change, suggesting human-driven synthesis of complex information.