Cod and climate variability in the Barents Sea

• Main Authors: Dippner, Joachim W., Ottersen, Geir
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: cod; torsk; climatic conditions; klimaforhold; Barents Sea; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/108388

Interannual variability of temperature in the Kola section (Barents Sea) and the abundance as 0-group (age 5 mo) and recruits (age 3 yr), spawning stock biomass, and survival of Arcto-Norwegian cod in the Barents Sea were related to climate variability using a multivariate regression model. The results show that in the Barents Sea the temperature anomalies are significantly and highly correlated to climate variables such as large-scale sea-level pressure fields and the North Atlantic Oscillation index. A significant and high correlation was detected between the temperature in the Barents Sea and both the 0-group index and recruitment of Arcto-Norwegian cod. A phase lag of 2 yr appears in recruitment. The high model skill and excellent correlation indicate that it is possible to predict the future development of Arcto-Norwegian cod stocks from climate-change scenarios.