Krill may seem like insignificant creatures, but Antarctic krill are known to play a huge role supporting marine life, and studies show that a combination of global heating and industrial-scale fishing for food, bait and aquaculture has sent populations into decline in Antarctic waters, which will have a devastating impact on the whales, seals and penguins that feed on them. Recent studies have also found that Antarctic krill play a vital role in carbon capture, removing up to 12 billion tonnes of carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere each year. Antarctic krill are among the largest of the 85 known species of krill and can live for up to 10 years. They live in the colder areas of the ocean, approximately 100 metres below the surface, only rising up to shallower waters in order to search for plankton.