The first Fish Atlas of Barents Sea Species

The atlas is based on the registrations made on the joint, yearly Norwegian-Russian ecosystem cruises in the Barents Sea, in the period from 2004 to 2009. The unique atlas has been jointly produced by the University Museum of Bergen, the Institute of Marine Research, and the Russian Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography - PINRO. From the University Museum, primarily Ingvar Byrkjedal and Gunnar Langhelle have been participating in this pioneering work.

The Barents Sea is one of the world’s large marine ecosystems, with the world’s largest population of cod and also the breeding grounds for the large stock of Norwegian spring spawning herring. The biodiversity of the Barents Sea is abundant, although the large fish stocks dominate in numbers.

Initially, the work on the fish atlas started with a list of 255 species, but after a clean-up of misidentifications and other ambiguities, the list could be reduced to about 200 species. Even if the atlas does not contain all these species, a quality assured and systematic overview over the biodiversity of the Barents Sea is now available.

The atlas has become a very useful tool for authorities, management entities, researchers, and other interested parties who would like to have an overview of this species rich ecosystem in the North.
The atlas is published by the Institute of Marine Research in the series: IMR/PINRO Joint Report Series 1-2011. ISSN 1502-8828.

You can download the atlas as PDF: 2011. Atlas of the Barents Sea Fishes

Read more: Navigation tool to the fish fauna of the Barents Sea