Krill may be at the bottom of the food chain, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important. Just the opposite. Krill are precisely important because whales, penguins, seals, and squid all rely on the tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans for food. Plus they remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. In order to protect this all-important species, the overwhelming majority of krill fishing companies have announced they will stop fishing in vast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula where most krill live. The decision comes ahead of a summit of the Antarctic Ocean Commission, in which the commission will decide whether to adopt an EU proposal to create the biggest ocean reserve on Earth.