Where Is Krill Caught and How Is It Transported?
Our primary krill fishing grounds are located around South Georgia Island and the South Orkney Islands, which lie between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South American continent.
Krill are caught using trawl nets, then processed and frozen onboard, and subsequently transported to Japan.
Although krill fishing can technically take place year-round, operations are usually conducted from February to September. From a resource conservation perspective, our company begins fishing in March and concludes operations between July and August.
Krill harvesting is carried out under international management and regulations to ensure sustainable resource use.
Because fishing takes place during the cold season, snow often accumulates on the vessels during operations.
How Krill Are Caught
The trawler vessels used for krill fishing are equipped with onboard processing facilities and large freezing systems.Krill have a high level of self-decomposition, meaning they begin to deteriorate soon after being brought onboard. To maintain quality, the krill are processed and frozen immediately after capture, preventing deterioration and preserving freshness.
Maintaining Freshness
Once krill are caught, they are immediately moved to the next stage of processing, where strict freshness control is essential.
In addition to the crew responsible for fishing, vessels carry personnel needed for processing and ship operations. Some ships have more than 120 people onboard.
Our company also places Japanese quality inspectors onboard, who oversee the process from catching to processing and freezing. Fishing continues until the transport vessel bound for Japan is fully loaded.
From the Southern Ocean to Japan
Krill are harvested in the Southern Ocean during autumn and winter. After processing and packaging onboard, they are transported to Japan.
We store our krill in a huge freezer. The inside is kept at -25°C, which allows us to preserve the krill in good condition for a long time.
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