A new study has revealed that some of the ocean's tiniest fish are having an outsized impact when it comes to helping the planet. Antarctic krill have the ability to store at least 20 million metric tons of carbon in the deep ocean annually, Mongabay reported.
Krill, the small crustaceans that serve as the main food source for some types of blue whales, among other species, store carbon by sinking their fecal pellets (which are larger than those of other plankton) into the ocean floor. Remarkably, this stores the carbon contained therein for more than a century.
As carbon pollution is the most impactful aspect of the ongoing overheating of our planet — which is responsible for increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events — this ability makes krill even more important than previously understood.
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The information was recently revealed in a scientific study published in the journal Nature Communications, which argued that "the carbon sequestration potential of open-ocean pelagic ecosystems is vastly underreported."
The study's authors hope that their work will lead to increased environmental protections for krill, which, like every other marine species, are facing threats from changing climates and overheating. Warming ocean temperatures are making it more difficult for krill larvae to hatch and more difficult for the species as a whole to sustain its populations.
Krill are also threatened by the fact that they are also ingesting an ever-increasing amount of microplastics, which have made their way to even the most remote parts of the Earth. Many of these microplastic particles were traced back to clothing or other textiles — a result of the waste created by the fast-fashion industry.
At the very least, the study's authors said, the new information about carbon sequestering should lead to more regulations around fishing for krill.
"Now that we can quantify the massive carbon storage by krill, I hope this will affect fishing policies, urge fisheries to reduce krill fishing, and help the public in reducing consumption of krill-based products," said marine biogeochemist Emma L. Cavan, the lead author of the study, of Imperial College, London.
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