In the Amundsen Sea, on the stern deck of the "Snow Dragon 2", as a voice of "net up" came through the intercom, the winch cable was quickly recovered, and another net of Antarctic krill samples was dragged onto the deck. Antarctic krill has always been widely concerned, what are the reasons behind it? Can it be consumed? Yang Jialiang, a member of China's 40th Antarctic Expedition and from the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, provided an answer to this question. From a global perspective, krill has a wide distribution range, with over 80 species Yang Jialiang said that there are 8 species of Antarctic krill, with the largest number being Antarctic krill, which can grow up to 45 to 60 millimeters in length as adults. What else is there in life besides crowds Continue to gather. "In the animated movie" Happy Feet 2, "the conversation between two Antarctic krill reveals their habits of living in groups. Under normal circumstances, a group of shrimp can grow up to 20-30 meters thick and several hundred meters long, causing large areas of the sea to appear reddish brown. From this, it can be seen that the abundance of Antarctic krill is estimated to be between 600 million to 1 billion tons, "said Yang Jialiang. Why can the Antarctic Ocean nurture such a large population of krill? Research shows that this is mainly related to the ocean currents in the area. The water from the warm ocean currents in the north forms an upwelling flow here, which contains abundant nutrients and has a high water temperature, making it an ideal place for krill to feed and inhabit due to the proliferation of phytoplankton. In the Southern Ocean, it is common to see whales opening their big mouths and rushing towards shrimp herds, as well as seals, penguins, and others shuttling back and forth between shrimp herds to hunt. In the food chain of the Southern Ocean, krill is a crucial link. "Yang Jialiang introduced that Antarctic krill feeds on phytoplankton and is also the main food source for animals such as whales, seals, and penguins, making it the cornerstone of this biological building in Antarctica. In addition, Antarctic krill is also known as a "protein warehouse". The meat of Antarctic krill is rich in high protein, much higher in content than beef and general fish, and also contains various essential amino acids for the human body. Yang Jialiang said that this does not mean that it is recommended for humans to directly consume krill. He continued to explain that due to the high fluoride content in the shells of Antarctic krill, and the rapid decomposition of shrimp meat by digestive enzymes in their bodies after death, the fluoride contained in the shells seeps into the shrimp meat. Therefore, Antarctic krill usually needs to be processed immediately within 10 hours after leaving the water. If it is used as food, the relevant requirements are even stricter, and it must be shelled within 3 hours and processed into shrimp paste or shrimp According to Yang Jialiang, limited by the fishing environment and food processing technology, currently internationally, the main products of Antarctic krill are frozen shrimp, shrimp powder, and subsequent processing into krill oil, aquaculture feed, or feed additives. (New Society)