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Ecosystems of the Barents Sea Region

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Governing Arctic Seas: Regional Lessons from the Bering Strait and Barents Sea

Part of the book series: Informed Decisionmaking for Sustainability ((IDS))

Abstract

The Barents Sea Region differs from most other Arctic sea areas in the way that the majority of the Barents Sea has historically been ice-free all year round. There is a huge human population living around the Barents Sea, and the exploration of both living and non-living resources is important. The region is highly developed and industrialized. Cold Arctic waters meet warm Atlantic waters and there are diverse and different ecosystems between the northern and southern part of the region. Due to climate change and warmer waters there is an ongoing borealization of the Barents Sea region. Species are moving northwards and new species are introduced to the area. The region is one of the most fishery intensive regions in the world. Because of the warmer waters, the huge northeast Arctic cod population is moving farther north and east in the Barents Sea. The commercially important species mackerel and snow crab have migrated to the region. The co-management regime between Norway and Russia is a main reason for the healthy fish stocks in the region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Research Council, Oslo, Norway

    Jon L. Fuglestad

  2. Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway

    Rasmus Benestad

  3. Geography Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    Vladimir Ivanov

  4. Ocean-Air Interaction Department, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Vladimir Ivanov

  5. Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Bergen, Norway

    Lis Lindahl Jørgensen

  6. Biodiversity Section, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway

    Kit M. Kovacs

  7. Nord University, Bodø, Norway

    Frode Nilssen

  8. Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Bergen, Norway

    Hein Rune Skjoldal

  9. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, Tromsø, Norway

    Julia Tchernova

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  1. Jon L. Fuglestad
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  2. Rasmus Benestad
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  3. Vladimir Ivanov
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  4. Lis Lindahl Jørgensen
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  5. Kit M. Kovacs
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  6. Frode Nilssen
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  7. Hein Rune Skjoldal
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  8. Julia Tchernova
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Correspondence to Jon L. Fuglestad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Oran R. Young

  2. Science Diplomacy Center, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Paul Arthur Berkman

  3. Department of International Law, MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia

    Alexander N. Vylegzhanin

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Fuglestad, J.L. et al. (2020). Ecosystems of the Barents Sea Region. In: Young, O., Berkman, P., Vylegzhanin, A. (eds) Governing Arctic Seas: Regional Lessons from the Bering Strait and Barents Sea. Informed Decisionmaking for Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25674-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25674-6_6

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