Dec 23, 2021

There Are 400 Million Tons of Krill in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean

Updated: Feb 28, 2022

Krill are chill when it comes to feeding the world. These small crustaceans come in numbers big enough to do the job.

  • “Krill” is a name used to describe about 86 species of crustaceans belonging to a group called euphausiids.

  • Antarctic krill is one of five krill species that lives in the Southern Ocean.

  • Krill can range in size from less than 1 cm in length to 6 cm for the largest krill species in the Southern Ocean. One deep-sea krill species can reach 14 cm.

  • There are about 400 million tons of Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean.

  • Krill can lay as many as 8000 eggs per brood.

  • Population densities can reach 30,000 individuals per cubic meter.

  • Krill adults may live from 5 to 10 years.

  • Krill can go as long as 200 days without food.

– Source: Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment

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