Published as a full page advert in Aftenposten - the biggest newspaper in Norway - on 19th October 2026, the first day of CCAMLR.
To the people of Norway,
Subject: Norway's reputation as a global environmental leader is at risk!
Today, nations gather in Hobart, Australia to decide the fate of the Southern Ocean.
The critical issue is krill fishing. Krill are tiny crustaceans like prawns that swarm in their billions in the Southern Ocean around the Antarctic. They’re the basis of the whole food chain, feeding whales, penguins, seals and birds. They also draw down 23 million tonnes of carbon into the deep ocean each year.
But industrial supertrawlers are now hoovering up this krill in immense quantities, putting the whole ecosystem in danger. Images of gigantic boats ploughing right through pods of feeding whales shocked television audiences worldwide on David Attenborough's ‘Ocean’.
And which nation is sending most of these gigantic supertrawlers to plunder the Antarctic? Norway. In our view the activities of Aker Qrill - which is part-owned by Aker and whose boats fly the Norwegian flag and operate with Norwegian fishing licenses - are bringing Norway as a nation into disrepute. Norway should be an international conservation champion. Now it looks like a villain.
Each year 620,000 tonnes of krill is removed from the Southern Ocean ecosystem in highly concentrated areas near the Antarctic Peninsula. That amount of krill could have fed 850 blue whales or eight times the entire Adélie penguin chick population. Now these animals risk going hungry instead.
There’s a chance to change that in Hobart - you can send a message to your government to stop defending Aker and to start defending Antarctic wildlife instead. We need an immediate ban on krill fishing, and to leave the Antarctic alone as a thriving sanctuary for all of life on Earth.
Yours,
Liv Arnesen, Explorer and Educator
Sylvia Earle, Marine biologist, oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer
Bertie Gregory, Broadcaster and National Geographic Explorer
George Monbiot, Author, Campaigner and Guardian columnist
Karolina Lisslö Gylfe, Secretary General, WePlanet International
Anders Christiansen Sørby, Chairperson WePlanet Norway
Ally Kristan, Executive Director Antarctic Wildlife Alliance
Peter Hammarstedt, Chairman, Sea Shepherd Global
Dan Crockett, Executive Director, Blue Marine Foundation
Celina Chien, Founder, Overstories Foundation
Meike Schützek, Founder, Ocean Now!
Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout and Ghislain Bardout, Co-founders and Directors of Under The Pole
Antoinette Vermilye, Co-founder, Gallifrey Foundation
Andrea Leong, WePlanet Australia President