The foraging range of Adelie penguins – implications for CEMP and interactions with the krill fishery

This paper presents a summary of the foraging locations of Adélie penguins, determined by satellite tracking, at seven widely-spaced breeding colonies along the coast of eastern Antarctica between 55°E (Enderby Land) and 175°E (Ross Sea). Adélie penguins feeding chicks regularly travelled up to 120 km offshore to the continental shelf and returned with krill, Euphausia superba. Locations of penguins on foraging trips were compared with historical records of fine-scale krill catch data for the regions of interest. The potential for overlap with krill fishing occurs particularly where ice conditions permit the fishing fleet to approach the edge of the continental shelf or where penguins forage downstream from the fishery. It is suggested that the potential for overlap between foraging areas of Adélie penguins and fishable concentrations of krill be investigated before a decision is made to establish a new CEMP site.