Shrimp from the Arctic
On the other side of the globe, in the Arctic, is another prized shrimp: the pandalus borealis, commonly known as northern prawn, deep-sea prawn or crevette nordique. Fan Xubing, president of Beijing Seabridge Marketing, which is one of the major importers of northern prawn in China, said that compared to Antarctic krill, northern prawn was already a common dish on dining tables in North America and Europe.
Like Antarctic krill, northern prawn is high in protein and had a low fat content, said Fan.
It also contains various vitamins, calcium, iron and magnesium, and is best eaten raw.
"If correctly defrosted and washed, it is completely safe to eat raw," said Fan. "The major fishing regions are Canada, Greenland and Denmark."
According to Fan, the average global annual yield for northern prawn is around 450,000 tons.
He said that when he initially founded his company, he sold around 5,000 tons in the first year. Last year, his company's sales volume for northern prawn in China was above 40,000 tons.
Shi said that other sought-after delicacies in China from the Arctic include black cod, a fish that is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, and nanjibingsun, a bamboo-shoot like algae, which is high in calcium and iodine, and can help prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Ecological fears
Professor Bert Wouters of the glaciology department at University of Bristol told China Youth Daily in 2013 that the sea ice around Greenland and Antarctica was disappearing at a rate of 300 billions tons per year, jeopardizing animal life on both regions.
Responding to fears that intensified fishing of Antarctic krill could cause irrevocable damage to the ecosystem of the region, Ying said that the CCAMLR has strict regulations regarding the resources that could be taken from the area.
"The CCAMLR assesses the volume of the Antarctic's natural resources each year, and sets a threshold of catch that will not jeopardize the ecology of the region," said Ying. "It's difficult for countries to get permission to fish in the Antarctic, and enforcement of the regulations is strict."
Ying attributed China's permission to fish in the Antarctic to the country's contributions to research in the region, including the establishment of the Antarctic Great Wall Station in 1985.
Fan, who has worked in the fisheries industry for more than 20 years, said that concerns over the environmental impact of commercial fishing, especially in areas like the Arctic and the Antarctic, were well-founded.
"Take black cod for an example," said Fan. "It's a very popular fish to eat, especially in the West. The population of this fish has nearly entirely been depleted."
Even when fisheries abide by regulations, and are declared to be sustainable, said Fan, the damage to the ecosystem caused by the fishing industry is real and increasing. "It is a dilemma," said Fan. "We want to eat delicious food, and we want to develop the fishing industry in the Arctic and Antarctic, but the first priority should always be protecting our environment."
