The Curious Life of Krill. A conservation story from the bottom of the world S.NicolIsland Press, Washington, DC, Covelo, London, 2018. Price: USD 30; GBP 22.99. ISBN: 978‐1610918534.

During the 1960s and 70s, the development of distant-water fishing fleets focussed attention on many little or under-exploited resources around the world. Simultaneously, the decline in the great whales led to the belief that their reduction might result in a surplus of their main food, krill, that could itself support a major fishery to satisfy the ever increasing world need for protein. It is the development and management of that fishery in the Southern Ocean that is central to this book. In his Preface, Stephen Nicol makes it clear that “this is not a scientific book, rather, it is an attempt to synthesize what we know about krill from a range of sources, some scientific, some more eclectic … to mould a readable story about a fascinating creature.” The eight chapters that follow show that he has succeeded. Enthusiasm from his experiences as a PhD student in Canada, looking at krill as individuals and in swarms, lead into much more detailed challenges in the Southern Ocean whilst working for the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). His AAD research team contributed much to the development of knowledge at sea, with under ice sampling and large-scale acoustic surveys such as the Baseline Research on Oceanography, Krill and the Environment (BROKE) programme, allied to detailed laboratory studies ashore on krill physiology and biochemistry, specifically growth and shrinkage. The need for a well-organized management regime within the Antarctic Treaty (AT) system was presaged in the 1970s, by the scientific community, through the establishment of the BIOMASS programme (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks). In turn, this was given greater focus and political strength by negotiation of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, whose Commission is responsible for the management regime (CCAMLR) and is advised by an independent Scientific Committee (SC-CAMLR). The mechanism behind the preparation of scientific advice and its presentation and consideration at Commission level are described and will be of interest to anyone wanting to assist in those processes. This is particularly important as some members of the NGO community do not appear to understand how the consensus process, central to decision-making, operates and has been made to work. Looking at the early history of CCAMLR, I have a minor disagreement over emphasis. It is unfortunate that the author relies solely on Commission reports to determine the key topics discussed in the early years. At that time, SC-CAMLR and BIOMASS, were to all intents and purposes, populated by many of the same scientists working hard towards providing advice for management by CCAMLR. True, there was minimal mention of krill in early Commission Reports although Commissioners were aware that much activity was taking place within SC-CAMLR that ultimately resulted in management measures. In that early period, these included regulations for monitoring the fisheries as well as specific topics, such as determining how indices of Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) might be used. Any delay in establishing a specific Krill Working Group was most definitely not a sign of lack of interest or debate either within SC-CAMLR or CCAMLR. Some recent developments in the krill fishery that have caused some consternation not only in SC-CAMLR but also with conservation groups are well described in the book. These concerns have been addressed by the fishing industry through the formation of the Association of Responsible Krill Fishing Industries (ARK) in 2011. So, even though in the 1970s and 80s, the industry, in the wake of the demise of the whaling industry, was wary of being forced to accept constraining management measures, it has changed to pro-actively develop management advice to CCAMLR. An interesting and most welcome evolutionary process, particularly since NGOs had prophesied at CCAMLR's inception that the requirement for consensus would lead to inaction and stalemate. Clearly the opposite is true. The final section lists some further reading. Personally, I found the James Marr monograph not very useful scientifically and suggest a far better pre-BIOMASS summary will be found in Alister Hardy's Great Waters. A Voyage Of Natural History To Study Whales, Plankton etc. In The Research Ship Discovery published in 1967. Although Nicol's book is not billed as a scientific publication, there are a few small but irritating problems with temperature conversion scales and an instance where longitude is used instead of latitude. Overall, I found the book easy to read as it builds a clear and credible picture of the Southern Ocean krill story based on the career of a biologist committed to the subject. Having worked in the same field over much of the same period, it is clear that the book was not targeted at people such as myself. So who should read it? Firstly, I am sure that any young scientist thinking in terms of a career in applied marine biology will benefit from seeing the fulfilment of a dream. Secondly, people who write or assess research proposals that describe how important their ideas are to the wise management of a resource should read carefully the author's description of the process and, in particular, the CCAMLR concept of “The Wombat Room” and decision-making. Thirdly, those who doubt the value of operating by consensus should read the book carefully, because with the establishment of trust and when implemented with sensitivity, consensus can lead to favourable outcomes.

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