Norway proposed almost doubling the catch limit for krill in the Southern Ocean during the annual conference of the intergovernmental body that manages Antarctic fisheries taking place Oct. 20-31, according to confidential documents seen by Mongabay. The proposal heightened diplomatic tensions at the meeting, which had already been overshadowed by the arrest of a Ukrainian delegate by Russian authorities in Crimea, an incident that several sources linked to his activities at the body, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Krill (Euphausia superba) is a shrimp-like crustacean, just a few centimeters long that lives in schools. It occupies the base of the food web for numerous wildlife populations in the Southern Ocean, including penguins, seals, finfish and seabirds. Concern over the sustainability of krill fishing prompted the creation of CCAMLR in the 1980s. In the 2000s, the debate reemerged due to the rapid growth in catches driven by demand for aquaculture feed, human food supplements and pet food. Today, conservationists warn that krill must be preserved to avoid further stressing the Antarctic marine ecosystem during a time of rapid disruption due to global warming. A representative of Norway acknowledged to Mongabay the country’s position as outlined in the documents. “The proposal is science-driven and developed within Norway’s broader commitment to sustainable fisheries management,” Bjørn Krafft, a scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and scientific representative for the Norwegian delegation to CCAMLR, told Mongabay in an email. Krafft declined to answer specific questions about the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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