The body responsible for conserving Antarctic marine life has failed to agree on new marine protected areas and taken a substantial step backward on krill fisheries management at its annual meeting in Hobart.

Using cutting-edge technology, researchers are uncovering profound links among ocean health, climate change, and the denizens of the deep.

Governments responsible for conserving Antarctic marine life have failed to deliver increased protection at a meeting in Hobart despite the threats of record low sea ice and the first cases of bird flu reaching Antarctica.

With the help of satellite tags, researchers from the University of Western Australia and Macquarie University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau, were able to follow the complete migration cycle of an Australian southern right whale for the very first time.

Antarctic sea ice provides refuge for a range of species, from tiny crustaceans like Antarctic krill to the largest penguin species – the emperor penguin, who rely on sea ice habitats for their survival. As the Antarctic environment experiences rapid environmental change, many Antarctic species are feeling the heat.

WWF is calling on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to prioritise the conservation of Antarctic wildlife and designate three new marine protected areas (MPAs) as sea-ice has declined to record lows, causing mass deaths of vulnerable species and potentially signalling Antarctica's shift to an unstable state.

You may not realize but an unlikely hero resides in the Southern Ocean, Antarctic krill. These tiny crustaceans, no larger than a paperclip, are critical to the Southern Ocean food web and feed a wide variety of species, including baleen whales, penguins, seals and many other marine wildlife, who depend on them to survive.

Antarctica's majestic great whales have long captured the fascination of researchers, but studying these ocean giants is challenging. Technology is an indispensable tool in unravelling the mysteries of these enigmatic creatures.

WWF’s Chris Johnson, and a group of whale ecologists, including Dr. Ari Friedlaender from the University of California Santa Cruz, recently made the journey to Antarctica to conduct vital research.

Today, long-time science partners from University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Duke University Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab (MaRRS) with others from Stanford University published research in the journal Nature that finds baleen whales eat at three times more than previously thought.