Important aspects of the status of ecosystem components and human activities as revealed by the most recent data are:
- Temperatures were generally higher than average throughout 2008, but lower than the two previous years. Average sea-ice extent has declined during the last three decades and was below average in 2008 but higher than in 2007
- The stocks of capelin, Northeast Arctic cod and haddock are all increasing. Stocks of shrimp and saithe have decreased the recent years. According to ICES, all five stocks are harvested in a sustainable manner and have full reproductive capacity. The stock of polar cod is at a high level. The stocks of Greenland halibut, golden redfish, deep-sea redfish and coastal cod are at low levels. There are indications that the Greenland halibut stock is increasing and there are signs of improved recruitment in deep-sea redfish. The amount of juvenile herring and blue whiting, which are not fished in the Barents Sea, has decreased during recent years and is at present at a low level. Several species of fish in the Barents Sea are listed on the Norwegian Red Lists of threatened species
- Zooplankton biomass has dropped since 2006 and was below the long-term mean in 2008. It was higher in the eastern parts of the Barents Sea, possibly as a result from low predation pressure from capelin and polar cod, which were mainly distributed in other areas in 2008
- Biomass of benthic organisms has varied substantially through time and between areas in recent years. Some of this variation is due to changes in populations of snow crab and red king crab. Long-term changes in the benthic community through the 20th century have been linked to temperature variability and intensity of bottom trawling, but the role these factors play in the observed variation in recent years cannot be identified with certainty
- Population data are scarce for most species of marine mammals in the Barents Sea, making it difficult to identify population trends and their possible underlying causes. For harp seals and hooded seals, existing data have shown that population size and/or pup production are probably being negatively affected by declining sea ice. Ringed seal reproduction has been negatively impacted by recent poor ice years in Svalbard (2006, 2007 and 2008), and the poor production is bound to cause declines in the adult population when these age cohorts should have come into the breeding population. Stocks of harbour seals and grey seals in Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea are subject to fishery-related mortality and hunting mortality that in combination are unsustainable. Harbour porpoises are also subject to by-catch in fisheries, and in order to sustain current levels of by-catch, immigration from outside the Barents Sea is required. Several species of marine mammals in the Barents Sea are listed on the Russian or Norwegian Red Lists of threatened species
- The situation for seabirds in 2008 was characterised by continued declining population trends and breeding failure of several species in the western parts of the Barents Sea, in particular northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, razorbill, Atlantic puffin and common guillemot are experiencing declines. This is similar to trends seen over much of the Northeast Atlantic in 2008, but in contrast to the situation in the eastern and northern parts of the Barents Sea, where seabird populations appears to be generally stable or increasing. The situation in the eastern Barents Sea including the Pechora Sea is however difficult to assess due to lack of monitoring data. The factors responsible for the declining trends in the western parts of the region probably involve food shortage, predation from an increasing population of white-tailed eagles and lagged effects from previous by-catch in fisheries. There are several Red Listed species of seabirds in the Barents Sea
- As described above, the major commercial fish stocks in the Barents Sea are harvested sustainably, whereas some of the smaller stocks are overfished. The quota for minke whales is considered precautionary, conservative and protective and quotas and catch rates for harp seals are considered sustainable. The harvest rate of red king crab is high and it remains to be seen how this will affect the population The general level of discarding from fisheries in the Barents Sea is not known. The general rate of by-catches of fish has declined during recent decades, but this issue is still a problem
- The Barents Sea is relatively clean from pollution. The exception is PCB and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are still occurring in significant concentrations in top predators like polar bears and some seabirds. Due to regulations and bans of several POPs (e.g PCB and HCB) there has been a decreasing trend in input to the Barents Sea the last decade. However, in the last few years, increasing trends are again seen for some of these substances. Levels of radioactive substances have been decreasing in recent years, but there is still a risk of significant radioactive pollution from several local sources, such as radioactive waste containers dumped in the Barents and Kara Seas by the former Soviet Union (FSU) and sunken submarines in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea
- No major accidental spills of oil from ship transport or oil and gas activities have occurred in the Barents Sea in 2008 or the recent past
