The main deterrent to the commercial development of chitin 

 from shellfish waste in this country has been the lack of a constant 

 supply of shellfish waste in a given locale. Since the theoretical 

 yield of chitin is < 1 .4% of whole krill, a well-developed krill fishery 

 might be an ideal source of raw material. At reported catch rates of 

 100 t daily, the production of chitin/chitosan could well represent 

 a significant aspect of the krill fishery. 



Reports reaching us indicate that Polish investigators have pret- 

 ty well solved the problems associated with the manufacture of 

 chitin and chitosan aboard ship and are now reported to be nearly 

 ready to supply markets for these high grade finished products. 



The pigment astaxanthin can be extracted from a number of 

 Crustacea, such as pelagic red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes, deep 

 sea red crab, Geryon quinquedens, and several species of shrimp. 

 In recent years, this pigment has been shown to be of value in 

 feeding hatchery-bred trout and salmon because the pigment 

 enhances the red color of the fish flesh. Krill contains about 3,600 

 ^ig/lOOg of astaxanthin (range 600-9,700) which can be extracted 

 as part of the derivation of chitin. 



A more prosaic byproduct is krill meal which presents no par- 

 ticular problems of manufacture. Krill meal, according to Gran- 

 tham (1977), has a protein content of about 55% which is generally 

 lower than most fish meals. The fat content, however, ranges from 

 12 to 20%. The high fat content gives the krill meal a higher 

 calorific value so that despite its apparent lower composition value 

 based upon protein content alone, feeding trials indicate that it is 

 of higher feed quality than expected. 



MARKETING 



National Accomplishments 



Study of the literature, in addition to personal examination of 

 various krill products made by Polish and West German in- 

 vestigators, lead us to conclude that krill manufacture has a long 

 way to go. Neither country is satisfied that it has produced a krill 

 product sufficiently appealing to satisfy international tastes and 

 cultural differences. 



Japan has tried to make more products than Russia, and with 

 the high rate of seafood consumption in Japan, it is likely that 

 Japan will produce krill products that will establish some sort of 

 home market but not necessarily an international market. In 1976, 

 Japan introduced whole, boiled, frozen krill for about $700/t at 

 the wholesale level. At retail, ton lots of krill packed in 300 g con- 

 tainers are sold at prices ranging from $1 ,000 to as much as $1 ,600. 

 All products were sold within Japan. 



Trade sources state that Chileans have marketed canned roller- 

 peeled meats at about $1 ,50/lb ($3.20/kg). Chile has also introduc- 

 ed block-frozen meats at $1 .00 to $1 . 10 for packs weighing 80-90 g 

 (2.8-3.2 oz). In paste form, the Russian block-frozen and canned 

 product has been sold at retail levels for $2.00-$2.80/kg. It is 

 reported that for a while block-frozen krill paste was available at 

 about $l,600/t. 



Frozen blocks of minced krill made from both raw and cooked 

 krill have been made by both Polish and West German in- 

 vestigators. Minced krill made from raw material has a shelf life of 

 only 2 to 3 mo at - 25 °C (Grantham 1977). A minced product 

 made from cooked krill is much more stable in the frozen state 

 than the minced product made from raw krill. Frozen, cooked krill 

 tail meats are considered of greater value than cooked minced krill. 

 Other product forms such as concentrates, hydrolysates, meal, and 



protein isolates have been made but, again, none can command a 

 market price, much less create a market demand. 



Market Research and Economic Analyses 



It would appear that each nation that has tried to utilize krill has 

 done so through government scientists or, in some cases, through 

 government-supported contractors. No mention is made of con- 

 ducting market research to determine the suitability of various 

 forms of krill products. It would appear that those who make the 

 products are those who would presume to pass upon the accep- 

 tability or usefulness. The fact that there are no market-ready 

 forms of krill that have much national potential, much less inter- 

 national appeal, may indicate a weakness in the approach so far. 



The energy requirements to sail a vessel many thousands of 

 miles to and from Antarctica in addition to heat-processing krill 

 aboard ship and also to freeze and maintain proper freezing 

 storage temperatures are tremendously high. Yet, seldom in the 

 literature reviewed have any considerations been given to making 

 complete economic analyses. It is not likely that any combination 

 of private interests would dare to tackle a task of as great a 

 magnitude without first running even an abbreviated economic 

 analysis. 



POSSIBLE PROBLEM AREAS 



Krill Resource 



At present, there seems to be no immediate problem with the 

 maintenance of the krill stocks in Antarctic waters. No concerted 

 fishery for krill is likely to be mounted until more efficient peeling 

 machines are devised to produce attractive tail meats at an accep- 

 table yield and high rate of speed. The limited fishery season 

 (November to April) in addition to the sailing distance to Antarctic 

 krill stocks serve as effective constraints to immediate overex- 

 ploitation. If baleen whales were to increase due to reduced whal- 

 ing activity, they would be natural competitors during the same 

 season. 



Harvesting Krill 



Problems could arise when competing vessels have different 

 end-use applications in krill harvesting. Most notably would be the 

 presence of vessels geared to harvest large amounts of krill for 

 manufacture into meal if krill meal manufacture is of itself 

 economically feasible. Such vessels would be designed and equip- 

 ped to capture and process larger amounts of krill than vessels 

 engaged in krill utilization for human use. Physical damage to 

 newly caught krill is of far less importance for krill meal or 

 byproduct use than krill destined for human use. Conflicts might 

 eventually develop because both types would hunt the same pro- 

 lific area but not at the same catch rate, thus leading to potential 

 problems of resentment of one type of fishery against the other. 



Problems may yet occur when the present Antarctic Treaty ex- 

 pires in 1990. Failure on the part of some signatories to ratify an 

 extension of the treaty might signal an intention to extend the 

 jurisdiction of those nations. Some of the very richest krill areas lie 

 within a 200-mi limit of important islands in the Antarctic area. 

 This is particularly true of the dependencies of the Falkland Islands 

 which include the South Sandwich and South Orkney Islands as 

 well as South Georgia. These areas are administered by the United 

 Kingdom but are still claimed by Argentina. 



