The World : Antarctic Wildlife Periled

The fish population in Antarctic waters has been seriously depleted by commercial fishing, largely by the Soviet Union, the National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington reported. This could seriously affect other marine life in the continent’s food chain, including penguins and seals, the agency and environmentalists said. Fish catches in the South Georgia region, about 1,000 miles east of the tip of South America, jumped from 4,000 tons in the 1972-73 season to 75,000 tons in 1984-85, the Fisheries Service reported. The private Environmental Defense Fund said large numbers of krill, a tiny crustacean that forms the main food for many other animals in the region, are being taken by the Soviets.