The aim of this subchapter is to summarise key features of the state of the Barents Sea ecosystem and discuss what aspects of the ecosystem are likely to be influenced by anthropogenic impacts. A discussion is also undertaken regarding possible developments of the ecosystem in the future. The chapter takes the ecosystem perspective, and will consequently focus on ecosystem status, function and processes. The anthropogenic driver that currently has the largest documented impact on the functioning of the Barents Sea ecosystem is harvesting.