Barents Sea ecoregion – fisheries overview ...

• Main Author: ICES
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: ICES Advice: Fisheries Overviews 2024
• Subjects: Fisheries and aquaculture; Barents Sea ICES Ecoregion; Barents Sea; Norway; Red king crab; Snow crab
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.21640814; https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/report/Barents_Sea_ecoregion_fisheries_overview/21640814

The commercial fisheries in the Barents Sea Ecoregion target few stocks. The largest pelagic fishery targets capelin (cap.27.1-2) using midwater trawl. The largest demersal fisheries target cod (cod.27.1-2), haddock (had.27.1-2), and other gadoids; predominantly using trawls, gillnets, longlines, and handlines. The crustacean fisheries target deep-sea prawn, red king crab, and snow crab. Harp seals and minke whales are also hunted in the region.Twelve nations currently have fisheries targeting the stocks in this ecoregion. Norway and Russian Federation (Russia henceforth) have the largest fleets and dominate the landings in the region. Total landings peaked in the mid-1970s and have been at a lower level for the last two decades. Catches of capelin have varied, from being the largest catches in the region (by weight) at some points in time to zero catches at others. Pelagic trawling in the ecoregion tends to catch only one species at a time, whereas demersal trawling normally catches several species ...