AWR surpasses 1 million USD to support Antarctic science
AWR is launching its 7th call for proposals and presents the three new research projects that have received grants in 2020 with a total investment of USD 187,000. With this funding AWR has surpassed the milestone of 1 million USD devoted to Antarctic science projects since the launch of the organization in 2015.
“In an era of climate change and threats to biodiversity, it is more critical than ever that we obtain the information needed to secure the long-term health of marine ecosystems. The projects funded by AWR will increase our ability to protect the krill-based ecosystem in the Southern Ocean,” said Claire Christian, the Chair of AWR’s board.
The three research projects receiving funding from AWR in 2020 are the following:
| Project | Primary investigator | Receiving institute | Amount |
| Assessing fine-scale behavior, interactions, body condition and krill consumption by cetacean krill predators with Unoccupied Aircraft Systems UAS | Martin Biuw | Institute of Marine Research, Norway | $76 461 |
| Assessing dynamics and characteristics of overlap between krill fisheries and humpback whale foraging | Ryan Reisinger | University of California Santa Cruz, USA | $37 349 |
| Environmental forcing of krill distribution in Area 48: Assessing current status and predicting future trends | Cecilia Lizska | British Antarctic Survey, UK | $73 185 |
“This is another year where AWR managed to support important research projects that will be key for the understanding of the Antarctic marine ecosystem and to contribute to the precautionary management of the Antarctic krill fishery,” said Dr. Rodolfo Werner, AWR Scientific Advisor, and Board member.
“The CCAMLR krill fishery management is making big strides forward and getting increasingly reliant on up to date scientific information. Promoting and facilitating research on the Antarctic ecosystem is essential in order to take care of the marine ecosystem in which we operate. That is why Aker BioMarine has supported AWR’s work with more than 1 million USD since 2015,” said Matts Johansen, CEO at Aker BioMarine.
The next call for proposals is now open
The seventh call for proposals is now open for applications. For 2021 AWR is looking for research projects that prioritize the following:
1. Krill biology and ecology to inform krill fishery management
2. Krill-Predator-Fishery Interaction
3. Supporting risk assessment framework for krill fishery management
4. Cutting edge science to monitor krill for fishery management
These scientific priorities are identical to last year, but this year the need to balance regional diversity, gender and early career scientist will also be emphasized in the interest of representing the full diversity of institutions and scientists engaged in Antarctic research.
Closing date for AWR’s 7th Call for proposals is March 26, 2021.
Two new members added to the AWR Science Advisory Group (SAG)
AWR is pleased to confirm two new scientists as members of the Science Advisory Group (SAG).
Dr. Elisa Seyboth (Brazil) and Dr. Xinliang Wang (China) have assumed their positions in October 2020. AWR would like to thank Dr Xianyong Zhao (China) and Mercedes Santos (Argentina) for their excellent service to AWR/SAG for the past five years.
Read more about SAG and its members here http://www.antarcticfund.org/sag
Read more about AWR here www.antarcticfund.org
For more information please contact:
Katrin Berntsen
Director Communication
ph: +47 920 54 570
katrin.berntsen@akerbiomarine.com
