Barentsportal
Barentsportal
Photo: Stein Trondstad, NP.
The commercial fisheries in the Barents Sea Ecoregion target few stocks. The largest pelagic fishery targets capelin using midwater trawl and purse seine. The largest demersal fisheries target cod, haddock, and other gadoids; predominantly using trawls, gillnets, longlines, and handlines.
Photo: Trine Lise Sviggum Helgerud, NPI.
Norwegian and Russian vessels harvest northern shrimp over the stock’s entire area of distribution in the Barents Sea. Vessels from other nations are restricted to trawling shrimp only in the Svalbard zone and the Loophole (international waters of the central Barents Sea). No overall TAC has been set for northern shrimp, and the fishery is regulated through effort control, licensing, and a partial TAC in the Russian zone only.
Photo: Ann K. Balto, NP.
Management of the minke whale is based on the Revised Management Procedure (RMP) developed by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. Inputs to this procedure are catch statistics and absolute abundance estimates.
Photo: Bjørn Frantzen, NIBIO.
Fishing activity in the Barents Sea is tracked by the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). Figures 3.9.4.1 and 3.9.4.2 show fishing activity in 2017-2020 based on Russian and Norwegian data. VMS data offer valuable information about temporal and spatial changes in fishing activity.