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WASHINGTON--
Antarctic penguins have fascinated people since they were first discovered by Magellan's expedition in 1520; the expedition historian called them "strange geese," while the crew used the fearless birds as a source of food. Today, thanks to a combination of man-made climate change and increased fishing for krill--the bread and butter for many penguin species--these flightless birds are up against threats far greater than that posed by Magellan's hungry sailors.A series of scientific conferences, culminating in an international policy meeting this fall, could make their lives easier--or perpetuate challenges for which millions of years of evolution never prepared them.
Although the Antarctic was once thought largely immune to the ravages of global warming, recent research has painted quite a different picture. According to the British Antarctic Survey, surface temperatures in Antarctica have risen by nearly 3 degrees Centigrade (5 degrees Fahrenheit) over the last 50 years--about 10 times the global average. Alarmingly, leading biologists have found that many of the iconic animals who call the Antarctic home, including several species
Along the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, the population of Adelie penguins, one of the best known of all penguin species for their classic tuxedo-like look, has plummeted 65 percent over the past 25 years. And king penguins could be extinct within the next two decades. Research has indicated that emperor, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins--which, along with Adelies, are the only four penguin species that breed on the Antarctic--might not be far behind.
While global warming is destroying their habitat, man is also competing with penguins for their principal food: a tiny, yet invaluable shrimp-like animal known as Antarctic krill. Measuring only a couple of centimeters in size, krill comprise the largest biomass in the Southern Ocean and serve as a key element in the Antarctic food chain--providing food for scores of penguin, whale, and seal species. Yet even krill have to eat, and with a reduction in sea ice due to the warmer water associated with climate change, krill cannot find enough plankton on which to forage. This sets in motion
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, an organization of 25 nations (including the United States) whose vessels fish in Antarctic waters, manages krill in the Southern Ocean. Last year the commission took steps to regulate krill fishing, but with growing interest in krill as a source of feed for farmed salmon and of omega-3 oils for health supplements, we risk expansion of fishing that could undo these reforms.
The commission manages fishing not just with the goal of protecting the fish, but with ensuring the survival of other parts of an ecosystem that depend on them--as penguins do on krill.
Policymakers are preparing for the commission's annual gathering this fall. For decades, the U.S. has been a leader in protecting the Antarctic and its vast natural resources from shortsighted commercial exploitation. The White House can ensure that the commission continues to employ science-based approaches to management of marine resources.
Gerald Leape directs The Pew Charitable Trusts' Antarctic Krill Conservation Project.
