The utilization of Antarctic krill for human food

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is distributed south of 60 °S around the South Pole. The stock of krill is estimated at 360 to 1400 million tons. In 1980 the total amount harvested in the world was 500 thousand tons, mainly by the USSR, followed by Japan. Chemical composition of krill is as follows: moisture 77.9–83.1%, crude protein 11.9–15.4%, chitin and glucides 2%, and crude ash 3%. Nutritive value of krill protein is lower than whole‐egg protein but higher than milk protein. Krill contains large amounts of vitamins A and E. About 70% of krill lipid is unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic, eico‐sapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. Commercial products from krill in Japan are frozen raw krill, frozen boiled krill, peeled krill meat, and others. All of these products are processed on boats in the Antarctic Ocean. Krill products in Japan totaled 271,050 tons in 1986–1987.