23. 01. 2026 Will Steen

Why krill matter: Krill fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean

Why krill matter: fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean.

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The Southern Ocean is one of the most remote places on the planet.

It was only in 1911 that the first human, Roald Amundsen, reached the South Pole. For context, the first powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, took to the air in 1903. Humanity conquered the skies before it managed the southern continent. The waters here are cold, barely above freezing, yet full of life. These are some of the richest waters in the world.

The main character is just 6cm long. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are small, shrimp-like crustaceans. They snack on the phytoplankton that thrives in the long hours of summer sunlight, trapping and storing similar amounts of carbon to seagrass and mangroves.

Their importance lies in their numbers: krill swarms are vast. The rust-coloured clouds are filled with billions of individuals and can be visible from space. They sustain most of the life around Antarctica. Penguins, seals, whales, fish and sharks all rely on this buffet: krill are a keystone species. More recently, people have joined the party.

Krill fishing has become a divisive topic, being featured in David Attenborough’s Ocean, calls to ban it being promoted at the United Nations Ocean Conference and some retailers withdrawing krill products from their shelves. Meanwhile, countries have applied to increase the catch limits and the amounts of krill being fished are higher than ever.

To understand where we are going, first we can look at where we have been. Why are krill important? What is our history in the Southern Ocean? What is our future?

Antarctic krill are small shrimp-like crustaceans. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *Photo credit: Brett Wilks*

How did we get here?

In 1775, Captain James Cook returned to England from a voyage around the world, in which he had searched for new lands. He found there wasn’t a new continent in the Pacific Ocean (at least not where one was predicted to be) and hypothesised on the existence of Antarctic land behind the ice (which he was correct about).

He had discovered some land on his travels: an island populated by seals and penguins, which was named ‘Isle of Georgia’ in honour of King George III of England. We know it now as South Georgia.

Sealing and whaling in the Southern Ocean

The element of Cook’s report that got attention was the abundance of fur seals on South Georgia and neighbouring islands. These pinnipeds were highly sought after, and between 1778 and 1822 an estimated 1.2 million fur seals were killed for their pelts. The species was almost completely wiped out on South Georgia and the islands.

The rise of industrial whaling then turned focus on to the waters of the Southern Ocean around South Georgia. Factory ships and explosive harpoons reduced the great whales to 18% of their original population. 5% of blue whales were left, and just 3% of humpback whales survived. When the last two whaling stations closed on South Georgia in 1965, 175,250 whales had been killed in those waters.

South Georgia, Antarctica. Posted by Ocean Generation.

When did krill fishing start?

Industrial fishing had been largely unmanaged, and everyone raced to benefit from the natural resources the Southern Ocean had to offer. One by one the marine species of the south had been targeted to great effect, and populations crashed. The focus then shifted to krill.

Industrial fishing for krill in the Southern Ocean increased through the 1960s and 1970s. As the species that formed the foundation of the ecosystem, the alarm bells rang, loud, at the prospect of the krill suffering the same fate as the seals and the whales.

Why are krill important?

Krill are a keystone species

The loss of krill would be disastrous for many different species. Whales, seals, penguins and fish are all krill predators. Less krill means less food for these species.

Southern Right whale mothers have shown a decrease in body condition over the past 40 years, suggesting ecological strain on an animal heavily reliant on Antarctic krill.

The population of krill has been linked with Adelie and chinstrap penguin numbers – when there is less krill, the penguin populations decrease.  And the fur seals, populations freshly rebounded from the hunting of the nineteenth century, are showing declines due to krill availability.

Without krill, life in the Southern Ocean could collapse.

To relay it in economic terms, krill are a vital piece of an ecosystem that provides, conservatively, $180 billion annually in ecosystem services – about 70% of New Zealands GDP in 2024.

Krill are climate champions

It isn’t just the animals in the Southern Ocean that depend on these. Krill are big players in the balancing of our atmosphere. They trap (sequester) a lot of carbon.

As phytoplankton photosynthesise, they take in carbon dioxide. When they are eaten by krill, the krill take on that carbon, some of which is then… dropped off. Krill faecal pellets (poo) alone are estimated to sequester 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Depending on the price of carbon, this is worth between $4 and $46 billion.

Marshes, mangroves and sea grass are estimated to absorb 13, 24 and 44 million tonnes per year respectively, so when you add in the extras of krill moults (20 million tonnes) and migration (26 million tonnes), as the researchers say: “it is likely that Antarctic krill is amongst the world’s most important carbon-storing organisms.”

How is krill fishing managed in the Southern Ocean?

Those alarm bells over the fishing of krill led to the creation of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). It was formed in 1980 and entered force in 1982.

The CCAMLR is made up of 27 member states (as of January 2026), with a further 10 ‘Acceding’ states – that support but don’t contribute to the budget or take part in decision making.

The stated aim: to protect and conserve the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean. Article II of the convention states:

The objective of this Convention is the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources.
For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘conservation’ includes rational use.

This captures a crucial distinction: fishing is an element of conservation, rather than an adversary.

How do you prevent overfishing?

Catch Limits

A general rule of thumb is that you can’t remove so much the population can’t sustain itself. That will vary with species – some animals reproduce a lot faster than others.

Understanding how much of a resource there is, is fundamental to managing it. This is one of the biggest obstacles in the Ocean: the water means you can’t just see (sea). In a field you can see how many cows there are, not true of a shoal of fish.

Acoustic surveying (using noise to find out what is there, like a bat) gives us estimates for the amount of krill. In short – a lot. We estimate there are over 300 million tonnes of Antarctic krill, roughly the same as the biomass of humans.

In the specific area targeted for krill fishing (known as Area 48), the biomass is estimated at 62 million tonnes (coincidentally, roughly the same mass as annual e-waste produced). So, CCAMLR adopted Conservation Measure 51-01. CM 51-01 set a trigger level at 1% of that biomass (620,000 tonnes) – when that is reached, all krill fishing stops, no questions asked. August 2025 was the first time this happened.

How acoustic surveying works: Explained by Ocean Generation.

Marine Protected Areas

Another tool in the toolbox is protected areas – designated places with specific rules. Choosing to avoid fishing in nursery areas, or places with high densities of predators, can ensure the health of the fishery.

The Southern Ocean is home to the first MPA on the high-seas (outside of the jurisdiction of any one country) and the largest. The South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf MPA was created in 2009, and is a no-take zone protecting penguin foraging areas.

The Ross Sea MPA was created in 2016 and is 2.09 million square kilometres, 72% of which is a no-take zone. The MPA has a controversial “sunset clause”, meaning the MPA will expire in 35 years unless renegotiated.

There are four other MPAs that have been proposed, but not yet agreed on.

Has the management of krill worked?

The krill fishery is one of the most closely managed in the world. Every single ship has an independent scientific observer on board to ensure catch and bycatch amounts are accurately reported. There is zero illegal, unreported or unregulated (known as IUU) fishing putting additional pressure on stocks.

Bycatch rates are very low. In 2004, after pressure to report bycatch, it was revealed 292 fur seals had been killed as bycatch. This prompted the fishery to adopt mitigation measures, and since 2010, 39 fur seals have been killed. This is alongside 7 humpback whales and 80 seabirds.

In many senses, this is a great success. Krill populations are stable and there have been little ecological impact from fishing. No other large-scale fishery in the world is as well-monitored, as efficient (in avoiding by catch) or conservative with catch limits. The industry refers to these points as support for increasing the limits.

What's next for the Southern Ocean? Posted by Ocean Generation.

It’s not just ‘how much’: Why location-specific catch limits matter

The numbers look excellent. However, the risk lies in local depletion. Taking 1% isn’t much unless you take it all from one place.

Penguins, seals and whales need the krill within reach. They can travel to find them, but the further they go, the more energy they spend to get there and the less far the meal will go.

To make an analogy:

It is like buying sweets. If you have £10 to spend on sweets, you could either buy lots of different types of sweets or spend all the money just on fudge. If you do the latter, Timmy from down the road might not get the fudge he wants because you bought it all.

To avoid krill fisheries removing the entire quota from one area and leave the local penguins hungry, CCAMLR introduced Conservation Measure 51-07 (CM 51-07). CM 51-07 divided the catch limits in area 48 into Subarea 48.1 (25%, 155,000t), 48.2 (45%, 279,000t), 48.3 (45%, 279,000t) and 48.4 (15%, 93,000t). It added another layer of protection to CM 51-01, but was a temporary measure with an expiry date, to incentivise agreement on long term measures.

In 2024, the CCAMLR failed to agree on new “move on” rules.  These would ensure fishing vessels leave an area once they have caught a certain amount, tackling the issues of local depletion. CM 51-07 expired without replacement at the end of the 2024 fishing season, leaving the krill fishery with only CM 51-01 (when  620,000 tonnes of krill is caught, fishing automatically stops) as guidance.

The CCAMLR currently doesn’t have any special measures to prevent the full quota being taken from the same place.

What is next in the Southern Ocean?

The krill fishery isn’t just dealing with changing policies, but also a changing Ocean.

The Southern Ocean is getting warmer.

The areas of sea ice coverage are decreasing, and a record low in 2023 was 1.02 million square kilometres less than the 1979-2022 average daily minimum. That is the same size as Egypt. The previous four years have seen the minimum sea ice extent drop below 2 million square kilometres.

Krill depend on sea ice. The changing amounts of ice impact the krill’s food – phytoplankton. As juveniles, they stay close for protection and graze off the algae that can grow on it. Less ice means less shelter and less food, which leads to a lot less krill before any fishing has happened. Maximum sea ice extents impact the following summer blooms of krill – more ice means more food and shelter for young krill, who then visibly blossom in the summer. 2025 had the third lowest sea ice maximum, behind only 2023 and 2024.

Since the 1970s, we have been seeing a reduction in the density of krill adults, and in the occurrence of very dense swarms around the Antarctic peninsula. These environmental changes also mean the krill are moving south – staying closer to the pole, where it is colder. This means that the northern ecosystems are losing access to their main food supply. It also means the areas divided up for krill fishing may not capture where the krill are anymore.

Conservation success: the return of the whales to Antarctica. Posted by Ocean Generation.

One of the biggest wins for nature and conservation is the return of the whales.

After population depletion by industrial whaling, whale populations are increasing to their historic levels. As whales return, the amount of krill they eat increases.

Acceptable krill catch limits from 20 year ago may no longer cater for the larger whale populations, which is why re-assessment is so important.

Even if the amounts of krill taken are acceptable, the fishing vessels can still affect the whales. The vessels disturb the whales and can spread krill swarms out more. This means that whales can spend more energy getting the same amount of food, which decreases their body condition and reduces their capacity to reproduce.

The situation gets more complicated when you combine the changes. Less krill is likely to disturb the recovery of whale populations.

Where do we stand on the future of krill?

The warming world and returning whales need to be factored into our management of krill fishing. But recent progress has been slow.

There is a lot of disagreement over the future of the krill fishery. In the meeting of the CCALMR in October 2025, Norway proposed a doubling of the catch limits for krill. At the same time, scientists are calling for a re-evaluation of the limits, as they are based on old data and assumptions. Meanwhile, concern about the exploitation of the Southern Ocean resulted in UK retailer Holland and Barrett withdrawing all krill products by April 2026.

The challenge of consensus

The CCAMLR operates on a consensus decision making model. Everyone has to agree before new measures can be introduced. New MPAs haven’t been agreed because one or two countries have blocked them on the grounds of a lack of scientific evidence and their right to fish for krill and other target species.

What have we learned from exploitation in the Southern Ocean?

There is a lot of hope to be found in the Southern Ocean. Fur seals were given protection in 1909, and their numbers have now recovered to over 3 million. Whaling stations on South Georgia are relics of the past, rusting microcosms of the industry they supported.

The CCAMLR is different to any other fishery. It has learned from previous mistakes and has made decisions based in robust science. A well-managed fishery will always be called too conservative, too limiting, too safe, because it will never reach the point of collapse or decline. So far, krill populations have remained steady, unaffected by us.

The Southern Ocean is changing, and so the fishery must change with it. Climate change, more whales and improved understanding of the ecosystem should all be considered in new fishery management.  There are three things to take from this:

We are capable of facilitating the recovery of the Ocean.
The Southern Ocean, and its krill, are facing new challenges.
We all benefit from the Southern Ocean, and its krill, flourishing.

Krill are small but mighty. They fuel giants and balance our climate. The continuing battle to protect them demonstrates how far we have come. We can understand better than ever the benefits this tiny crustacean imparts as a part of its ecosystem.

We don’t have all the answers, but the progress is reassuring. A relationship with the Ocean that is based in our understanding of the impacts of our actions will be much more productive than one based on the potential profits.

Krill are not the impressive, charismatic Ocean animals that whales and penguins are. But if we fail krill, we stand to lose the rest. Krill can be the species that marks a new chapter in our relationship with the Ocean – one in which we work with our Ocean rather than at the cost of it.

What have we learned from exploitation in the Southern Ocean?

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From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

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15. 01. 2026 Will Steen

Narwhals and Unicorns: How the magic of the Arctic has changed

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Are unicorns real? Look to the Arctic Ocean.

Under a clear blue sky, icebergs silently sparkle as they float in the Ocean, occasionally nudging each other. The water between them is a deep blue and still, undisturbed. Until a twisted ivory lance pierces the air, sliding out of the water inch by inch until two metres of tusk are followed by a mottled grey head. The head directs the tusk down again, exhales through the nostrils on top and takes a deep breath, slipping into the frigid waters.

Maybe not quite how you would picture seeing your first unicorn.

Except there’s some bad news. Unicorns aren’t real. We are as disappointed as you are; the closest we can come to a unicorn is a whale that lives in the Ocean: narwhals.

But there was a time not so long ago that people believed the unicorn existed.

Why did people believe unicorns existed?

In the first half of fourth century BC the Greek physician Ctesias provided the first description of a unicorn. He outlined an Indian wild ass (a horse-like animal) with a crimson head and a tri-coloured horn about 28 inches long. He wrote that powdered unicorn horn acted as an antidote to deadly poisons.

Aelian, a Roman writer in 200 AD fleshed out the description and noted that only noblemen could afford the horns, they were so expensive.

Early Christianity adopted the unicorn as a symbol of Christ, with the horn as a symbol of the cross of Christ. Through the belief in protection for the self and the soul, the unicorn horn – known as alicorn – became a highly sought after asset.

Unicorn horns were symbols of wealth and power, often displayed in positions of prominence on banquet tables. It was thought that the horn would bubble if dipped in a poisoned chalice, saving the wielder – a popular tool in the medieval banquet hall.

At the peak of its popularity, a complete horn was worth 20 times its weight in gold*, and even powdered horn once cost ten times.

Where did yhe unicorn myth come from? Explained by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education. — *Illustration from the book The history of four-footed beasts and serpents by Edward Topsell.*

Unicorn horns were sought after by nobles, kings and religious leaders in Europe:

For example, Lorenzo de Medici had one valued at 6,000 gold florins (around $1 million). Ivan the Terrible was reported to have paid 10,000 marks for one, and called for it to be brought to him on his deathbed. Martin Luther was said to have been saved from an assassination attempt by powdered unicorn horn, and had a spoon made from the magical substance.

Such a powerful tool befits a queen, and on hearing that Mary Queen of Scots was using unicorn horn to test her food for poison, Elizabeth I offered a handsome reward for another. Privateer and Arctic explorer Martin Frobisher (or Humphrey Gilbert, both were on the expedition, but different sources credit them) found a narwhal washed ashore in Canada and gifted it to the queen. She was enamoured with it and covered it in jewels. It was said to be valued at £10,000*, approximately £3 million in modern terms. She also handed a gilted and bejewelled unicorn horn drinking vessel down to James I.

Even the Pope, one of the main focal points of power and wealth at the time, was involved. Pope Clement VII gifted Francis I of France a unicorn horn on a silver stand.

In the 1660s, King Frederick III ordered the building of a coronation chair. This chair was made using several unicorn horns and served as the centrepiece of Danish coronations until 1840.

But as we know, unicorns aren’t real. Where are these horns coming from?

Unicorn horns were sought after by European nobles. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *The Trustees and Factor and Commissioner of the Walker Trust / National Museums Scotland*

Where did tales of unicorn horns come from?

Most of the Roman and Greek accounts of unicorns were likely based on stories from travellers coming across rhinoceros in India and Africa. But after these initial accounts describing the horn as straight, Christian art from about 1200 changed its view of the unicorn.

Unicorns now had spiralled horns. There is only one animal that possesses a straight, spiralling ‘horn’ – the narwhal (Monodon monceros). And it isn’t a horn at all, but a tooth.

Christian art from about 1200 depicted unicorns with spiralled horns.

What you need to know about narwhals: unicorns of the sea

The name comes from the Old Norse nárhval, meaning corpse whale. Narwhals have mottled grey skin not dissimilar to rotting flesh and like to lounge at the surface – behaviour known as logging. Combine the two and you can understand why the Viking explorers named them.

Narwhals are homebodies. They have ‘high site fidelity’ – meaning they stick to the places they like and will go back to their favourite spots. They can be found in the Canadian Arctic, through to East Greenland, Svalbard and the western Russian Arctic.

What is a narwhal’s ‘horn’?

The ‘horn’ of a narwhal is one (or in rare cases two) of the incisors, so is a tusk rather than a horn at all. All narwhals have two tusks embedded in their top lip.

Most commonly, males in their 2^ndor 3^rd year will have the front left tusk erupt through their top lip, growing with age to reach 1.5-2.5m long. Around 3% of narwhals are anomalies, with some females growing tusks, some males growing two or none at all. Double tusks in narwhals are about as common as an extra finger in humans.

What do narwhals use their tusk for?

The use of the tusk is still under debate.

The first theories were that narwhal tusks were used for piercing prey or breaking up ice to make breathing holes. Observers supposed they could also function as a defensive mechanism or a cooling system. However, these theories are either discredited or unproven. The real uses are even more spectacular.

What do narwhals use their tusks for? Explained by Ocean Generation. — *NIST/Glenn Williams*

Dental Displays

Studies suggest that narwhal tusks are sexually selected. Male narwhals will use their tusk as a display feature in competition with each other, and bigger is better. The size of the tusk has been shown to positively correlate with teste size – so could be an easy indicator for the females to see which males are most fertile. Sometimes, size does matter.

Where males with similar tusks meet, they may fight – male narwhals show far more scarring on their heads than juvenile and female narwhals and 40-60% have broken tusks, but this hasn’t ever been observed.

What is sexual selection?
Sexual selection is a special type of natural selection, where traits that increase reproduction will be passed on.

Fish Fencers

But it isn’t just for showing or skirmishing. Using drones to study the narwhals’ behaviour, researchers saw the tusks in action. They could use the tusk to guide the fish, chasing it. They even saw the tusk being used, as a thresher shark uses its tail, to hit the fish, stunning it ready for eating. The scientists involved think there could even have been an element of play.

Temperature Taster

In 2014, we discovered that a narwhal tusk was full of holes and nerves. This could mean that it can operate as a water sensing tool for the narwhal, and they can ‘feel’ changes in water saltiness (salinity) and temperature. They show elevated heart rate when the horn is exposed to very salty water and fresh water, suggesting they can detect it.

‘Feeling’ your surroundings can be very useful for navigation, when diving deep and moving between their favourite spots. It could also save their lives. Seawater freezing depends on the temperature and salinity of the water – saltier water needs to be colder before it freezes. By knowing the temperature and salinity of the water they are in, they are detecting when the water is likely to freeze, trapping them from the air to breathe.

This could also be used in hunting – those narwhals we’ve seen using their tusks to ‘chase’ fish? They could be using their swirly sensor to detect the fishes’ movements through pressure changes in the water, even faster than they can see them

Narwhals are nicknamed the unicorns of the sea. Posted by Ocean Generation. — *phys.org*

Are narwhals magic?

So, we have a tooth that helps guide them through the icy waters like Rudolph’s nose, zero in on prey like a laser guided missile and show off their suitability to be a parent.

A narwhal’s tusk could enable them to tell when ice is going to form and find prey hiding in the dark as they can dive over a kilometre (3,281 ft) down, where no light can reach.

Unicorns might not be real, but this all sounds like magic.

Does something lose its magic just because we understand how it works? Whether it is magic or incredible biology, the enchantment of the narwhal is threatened by a changing world.

How is the narwhals’ world changing?

The opinions and doting of nobles across Europe and the world meant nothing to the narwhal. After years of hunting operations, narwhals are now enduring other changes, this time in their home. Climate change, caused primarily by the human burning of fossil fuels, is hitting the polar regions, where narwhals live, the hardest.

The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world. This is known as polar or Arctic amplification (AA). AA has resulted in the Arctic warming by as much as four times the rest of the globe. Since 2006, the air temperature in autumn and winter has increased by more than twice the global average.

Narwhals live around the Arctic Ocean. Posted by Ocean Generation. — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2013.10.005

Why do narwhals live in the Arctic Ocean?

Narwhals like it cold. Where the sea is warmer, there are less narwhals. Why? This could be to do with their prey – one of their favourites, cod, are known to grow better in water temperatures of less than 2 degrees.

It could also be to do with their supreme adaptions for the coldest places on the planet – they may overheat at higher temperatures. No one wants to be wearing a thick winter coat on a hot summer’s day.

How is climate change impacting narwhals?

There is less ice. November 30 2025 saw the lowest area of Arctic ice on that date on record. The previous 20 years have given us the 20^th lowest sea ice minimums on record, and there is 95% less old sea ice (over 4 years old) than the average from 1979-2004.

Ice is an important part of the lives of every animal living in the polar seas. The loss of sea ice has been shown to change the diet of the narwhal as they can’t eat ice-based (known as sympagic) prey, so they eat more open-water (pelagic) species instead.

Through burning coal and mining for gold, humans have increased the amount of mercury in the environment. Less ice means there is more bioavailable mercury. The result: the narwhals are exposed to more mercury. Increased mercury levels can impact the reproduction and immune systems of narwhals. How do we know this? Through analysing narwhal tusks, which give us an insight into their life history. The magic tusks are whispering to us.

The reducing ice also means there is more human activity. We are a noisy bunch, and narwhals have shown to be sensitive to ship noise, reducing their deep dives for food (and given they are inefficient in their dive success, they need them).

The Arctic Region is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.

How are we preserving the magic of the Arctic?

Narwhal hunting is monitored and almost every whale caught is for the subsidence of the indigenous Inuit people. The population is difficult to track, especially without a reliable baseline. However, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature assessed the population in 2017 and shifted the status from Near Threatened to Least Concern. The narwhal is doing well so far.

The isolation of the Arctic and the changing attitude towards cetaceans means the narwhal hasn’t had to deal with a multitude of human pressures. But more than ever, those pressures are finding them where they log.

Research will continue to develop quieter boats, and policy will increase protected areas. The narwhal is one example of a bit of remote magic we are trying to keep.

Climate change is being tackled head on, with an energy transition in full flow, electric vehicles going from strength to strength and global emission increases are slowing. We will be the generation to see the transition to human flourishing not coming at the cost of our natural world, for the first time.

But within this, driving this, is being able to see the magic of the unicorn, not as a made-up money-making monopoly manufacture, but in the reality of the narwhal and its beautiful, magical tooth. See the magic, spread the magic – that is what will lead to us protecting the magic.

*Wexler, P. (2017). Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Academic Press.
Cover image by Проектный офис Нарвал

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Will Steen

From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

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13. 01. 2026 Will Steen

From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

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If a group of 7–11-year-olds could interview delegates at COP30, what would they ask?

Well in November 2025, Ocean Generation made this happen. We worked with 5 young Eco Ambassadors at Ballard School in New Milton, UK as they interviewed Professor Matt Frost, Head of International Office at Plymouth Marine Laboratory as part of the COP30’s Virtual Ocean Pavilion’s series of youth-led interviews.

What is COP?
COP (Conference of the Parties) is the UN’s annual climate summit. During the conference, parties negotiate climate action and review progress. COP is also a platform for scientific studies and activism. Read more about COP here.

Ocean Generation’s Youth Engagement Lead, Dr Gemma Connell, mentored the young people through the process and was so proud when they wrote their own (very difficult!) questions for Matt, giving him a bit of a grilling!

It was heartwarming to witness Matt’s honesty in his responses to the young people. He discussed where the problems are in the COP space, and most importantly – what we can all do to protect our Ocean.

Join the Eco-Ambassadors as they ask Professor Matt Frost the important questions around COP30, the importance of the Ocean and what his favourite sea creature is.

So, you wake up at COP30, what are you doing? What does you day look like? (Freddie’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Wake up, check the times on everything. You don’t want the changing time zones to lead to you missing events and meetings.

Planning where to be that day, making a list of places and times I need to be somewhere.

The first day and the start of every day includes a lot of security. Making sure everyone has identification and the right badges to get through the security measures that are in place protecting some of the world’s most important people.

COP can involve hundreds of thousands of people, so just working out where everything and everyone is, is a challenge. Got to make sure you know where the good coffee shops are.

“The fun bit is that you walk around, and you meet all sorts of people.”

Not just meetings or speaking events, but you might find yourself doing some media as well.

“Recently I was at a COP when I bumped into Tom Heap, who is one of the presenters on Countryfile. He said, ‘do you mind doing an interview while you’re here that we can put on Sky News?’”

Every evening there will be a reception, meeting all sorts of people from government ministers to scientists.

Youth-led interview series at COP30 — Photo by Ballard School

Young eco-ambassadors from Ballard School interviewing a climate scientists as part of COP30 — Photo by Ballard School

What are your expectations coming to the COP30 and what would you consider a successful result for the Ocean? (Toby’s question)

Matt’s answer:

“For many years, when people came to these meetings, they were all worried about what was going on on the land.” Matt noted how the conversations would focus more on forests, trees and farming, “but nobody really thought about the Ocean.”

“So, over the years, we’ve had to explain to people that our planet – and I’m sure you know this, being Eco Champions – is mostly water. The Ocean is most of our planet. So, one of the main things that is a success every time we go to these meetings is to make sure that everybody is talking about the Ocean.”

Every leader talking about the Ocean is a success. The next step is encouraging action.

The people at these meetings don’t have the power, they can go back to their governments to convince them to act.

For example, the UK government going home and taking direct action to address the issues in the Ocean through laws and funding would be a real success from COP30.

The Ocean has gradually grown in prominence on the global stage.

Ocean Generation’s note:

Six years ago, COP25 recognised the connection between Ocean and climate, COP26 called for Ocean action to be integrated in work programs and COP27 encouraged countries to include the Ocean in their national climate goals.

At COP30, the Ocean was formally included in the COP30 Action Agenda. It was the first time a COP decision included a specific Ocean angle, with goals and commitments. This included investing in marine conservation and renewable energy, reducing the environmental and ecological impacts of shipping, supporting aquatic food solutions and reducing the impact of coastal tourism.

Practical tools were launched at COP30 to help achieve the goals. An Ocean Breakthrough Implementation Dashboard was launched to monitor country progress across those five areas (nature conservation, renewable energy, shipping, marine food and tourism). The Marine Biodiversity and Ocean Health Breakthrough and Roadmap gives the standards and methods to tackle Ocean assessment and actions.

While COP30 included the Ocean more deeply than previous COPs, there was a lack of financing and binding agreements to ensure countries take action. It is now over to them to build on the outcomes of COP30 and take Ocean action.

How can governments encourage private companies to not use single use plastic? (Leo’s question)

Matt’s answer:

If I could get a brilliant answer to that it would solve one of the world’s biggest problems. So, I will do my best and honestly, Leo, if you and your friends have got ideas… we need some help with this.”

As well as a pollution problem, plastic is also a climate problem, as 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels.

Governments like the UK have been banning things like plastic straws, microbeads in cosmetics and charging for plastic bags.

Should we ban everything? “I don’t think that will help ultimately…”. It is a global problem and needs to be addressed globally. The Global Plastics Treaty is an opportunity for governments to make a real difference. Read more about the treaty here.

Companies are willing to cut down on plastic but need incentives to do so. Encourage is a great word in the question.

“They [world leaders] can make it difficult by putting taxes [on plastic] and making it more expensive to use single use plastic. But ultimately… governments will only do so much.”

Government action can be encouraged by what we buy and say.

99% of plastics are made of fossil fuels. Posted by Ocean Generation, leaders in Ocean education.

Ocean Generation’s note:

The difficulty in banning all plastics, is where we haven’t yet found an affordable alternative which does the same thing as plastic but doesn’t have the impact on the environment.

This is particularly difficult in industries such as healthcare, where single use plastic is often used to keep patients, doctors and nurses safe. We can’t ban all plastics without looking at the other consequences that might have – context is very important! Read more about if plastic is good or bad here.

Are there plans to introduce whale friendly cruise routes to reduce noise pollution in the seas? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

Yes there are plans for whale friendly shipping, but we really need the shipping companies to start doing this now.”

Ships are big contributors to climate change, producing air pollution as they burn fossil fuels to power their engines.

There are much more ships on the Ocean at any one point – over 70,000. There are two main ways they cause issues for marine life such as whales – noise pollution and ship strikes.

Whale friendly cruise routes hope to minimise the impact of both of those things. The International Maritime Organisation and the International Whaling Commission are trying to implement rules on shipping. These include go slow zones where whales are known to feed and live, and special routes that avoid whale “hotspots”.

It is down to the individual ships, shipping companies and cruise companies to act on the advice of the IWC and IMO.

How marine shipping routes and whale's migration routes overlap. Explained by Ocean Generation.

Ocean Generation’s note:

Exact numbers of whales killed by ship strike are difficult to quantify, as data suffers from underreporting.  But recent work has shown that global shipping traffic overlaps with about 92% of whale species’ ranges. Of that, only 7% of the areas that are high-risk for whale-ship collisions have any protective measures. Protecting just 2.6% more of the Ocean would eliminate many high-risk areas with minimal impact to shipping times.

As Matt says, there are two main solutions. Slower ships give all marine life more time to dive or swim away, avoiding collision. Slowing ships to 10 knots can reduce the the number of whale deaths by 30%.

The other approach is by re-routing ships from collision hotspots. In the Mediterranean, rerouting ships away from the Hellenic Trench has reduced the risk of collision by an estimated 27%.

95% of hotspots fall within the exclusive economic zones of a country, so, each country can implement protective measures in coordination with the IMO recommendations. Whale safe routes are in reach.

Does creating the infrastructure in order to host COP30 and transporting leaders there outweigh the positive outcomes of the conference?  Do you assess the carbon footprint and is there a plan to offset this? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

The concern is that we might not have these conversations if we weren’t all in the same room. Yes, we carbon offset but there is going to be some environmental impact. We think the positives outweigh the negatives.

“At the moment we feel that if we didn’t go, who’s going to be there to speak up for good science, to speak up for the Ocean, to speak up to actually look after things? And the danger is that, if all the people who feel very strongly about carbon decide not to go to the COP for the reasons you’ve said, then it could be left with the people that don’t really care much about it.”

Ocean Generation’s note:

One of the intentions of hosts Brazil was to deliver a carbon-neutral COP30. They delivered this by offsetting their calculated emissions. They calculated that COP30 produced 130,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gases. To counter this, they purchased 130,000 UN-certified carbon credits. The money for these credits goes towards carbon-negative projects, so COP30 is carbon-neutral in principle.

However, this calculation only considers the emissions generated by hosting. The bulk of emissions are likely generated by the travel of attendees. There is no comprehensive calculation of these emissions. A large part of that relies on the attendees doing what they can to reduce environmental impact.

“You can ask me again next year and maybe I’ll answer differently, but this year the positives outweigh the negatives.”

Was COP30 carbon neutral? Explained by Ocean Generation. — *Photo by Fernando Llano/AP*

Is COP30 going to be used for fossil fuel deals like the last one? (Sean’s question)

Matt’s answer:

“I can’t promise that that will never happen at any COP.”

Some people will want to see things stay as they are, but there are enough people with good intentions there to know that good things will come out of it. Multilateralism (global cooperation), connecting climate change messages to individuals and accelerating implementation are all main aims of this COP.

I’m hoping the good things will outweigh the others.

Ocean Generation’s note:

At COP29, there was backlash against the hosts, Azerbaijan, as one of their senior officials was found to be conducting meetings to coordinate fossil fuel deals. Find out more of what happened at COP29 in our article here.

What is the extent of the impact of pumping carbon back into the Ocean underneath the seabed? (Lily’s question)

Matt’s answer:

It’s possibly helpful, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and tapping it. However, there are risks – if it leaks it can cause harm to marine life and return the carbon to the atmosphere.

We’re asking that we [humans] don’t do it until we know more about the effects of it.

“If you went to the doctor and said, ‘I feel really poorly,” and the doctor said ‘well, I’ve got some medicine for you… I don’t know if it works very well, and it might make you really ill, but I don’t actually know that we haven’t tried it.’ Would you take that medicine?

Impact of pumping carbon back into the Ocean: explained by Ocean Generation.

What key messages would you like us to share with our school community in order to look after the Ocean better? (Freddy’s question)

Matt’s answer:

There is an ongoing problem that people don’t really understand the Ocean. They don’t know what is in it, they don’t really understand it, and they don’t know that we rely on it.

We need to remind people that most of our planet is Ocean. When the Ocean is healthy, we are healthy.

We rely on the Ocean for our food, our breathing air and our mental health.

If we look after the Ocean, it will look after us.

Read more about how the Ocean keeps us alive here.

Toby’s surprise question: What is your favourite marine animal?

Matt’s answer:

Matt’s answer: the leafy sea dragon!

Ocean Generation’s note:

The leafy sea dragon is a fish closely related to seahorses and pipefish. The name of its genus, Phycodurus, comes from the Greek words for seaweed (phûkos) and skin (derma), encapsulating its amazing camouflage. It can change the colour of its skin to match the seaweed around it and moves through the water like a drifting frond.

Leafy seadragons typically swim solo, but will court each other through dance, mirroring each other’s movements. Males carry the eggs for 6-8 weeks on a specialised patch under their tail, before ‘giving birth’ to 100-250 20mm baby leafy sea dragons (about the size of a peanut).

The leafy sea dragon is a fish closely related to seahorses. Posted by Ocean Generation.

Matt asked the students: what would the Eco Ambassadors’ message be for him to take to COP30?

Toby answered, “Plant more trees!”

A week later, the Eco Ambassadors planted 30 saplings after school, doing their bit to live up to Toby’s “plant more trees!” answer.

Alex Bellars, teacher at Ballard School said:

“Our Eco-Ambassadors absolutely loved taking part in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion interview with Professor Matt Frost on 6th November, 2025. It was inspiring to know that their voices and ideas formed even a tiny part of the global conversation at COP30!

It was especially cool to know that our pupils were the youngest participants in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion – and therefore possibly at the whole of COP30 itself. And it was wonderful to see Toby grab the chance to put Matt on the spot with an unplanned bonus question!”

Post by

Will Steen

From classroom to COP30: Questions from children to climate leaders about Ocean protection

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