Summary: | From 5 January to 1 April, five vessels participated in the capelin investigations in the Barents Sea and along the coast of Finnmark. The immature capelin west of 30°E was distributed south to 73°30'N. In an area around 74°N 24°E there where good registrations of immature capelin. As in 1980 the mature fish migrated towards Finnmark in two separate influxes, one eastern part towards the Varangerhalvøya and one western part over Nordkappbanken towards Lopphavet. The l977 year class made up the majority of the spawning stock. The spawning grounds were investigated by grab in the period 15 March to 31 March. Eventually no eggs were found East of Nordkapp. The sea temperature was lower than in 1980, both in the open sea in January and along the coast in March.
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