WWF in the Arctic: Barents Sea
Fish
The Barents Sea has some of the largest fish stocks in the world, including Norwegian-arctic cod, capelin, spring spawning herring and polar cod. From about 150 fish species of 52 families, North Atlantic boreal and arctic boreal species predominate, with two thirds of the species found only in the western part of the ecoregion - close to the limit of their distribution range.
Species like capelin and polar cod are key species in the marine ecosystem, representing important links between high plankton production and the rest of the food web. Some stocks, like cod, herring and capelin, are migratory and use large parts of the Barents Sea at different stages in their life cycle. Others, like redfish, wolf fish, Greenland halibut, tusk and ling, are normally stationary and their distribution is related to certain water and seafloor conditions.
The Norwegian arctic cod in the Barents Sea is the largest cod stock in the world, spawning in huge numbers outside the Lofoten Islands from January to April. Herring spawns off the Norwegian coast south of the ecoregion, while capelin spawn in shallow waters along the coast of Finnmark, and the western part of the Kola Peninsula. The polar cod thrives further east and north, while along the southern coasts, world-class salmon rivers run down to the Barents Sea.Did you know...
More than 50 percent of all the cod in the world comes from the Barents Sea and this stock is the world's largest remaining cod stock. Global cod catches have suffered a 70 per cent drop over the last 30 years, and if this trend continues, the world's cod stocks will disappear in 15 years.
Norwegian spring spawning herring.
© Erling Svensen
© Erling Svensen
