Undersøkelser av fiskeforekomster i Barentshavet og ved Spitsbergen i august - september 1972

Abstract

During August—September 1972 observations were made on distribution and abundance of fish in the Barents Sea and off Spitsbergen. The observations of 0-group fish are published in separate report. The amount of capelin within the investigated area, based on echo integrator readings, was estimated to 13.5 million tons compared to 10.1 million tons in 1971. By samples from the trawl catches it is concluded that about 75% of this stock will spawn in 1973. For polar cod the distribution seemed to be very much like that of 1970 and 1971. The greatest concentrations were observed in the northeastern part of the investigated area, and seemed to be somewhat higher than in 1970 and 1971. It is tentatively concluded that the stock is of order 5 million tons. Concerning demersal fishes, the registrations north of Spitsbergen consisted of 1970 yearclass cod only. Cod and haddock dominated the echo registrations along the coast of Spitsbergen. Redfish and blue whiting were observed along the slope of the continental shelf. In the central Barents Sea and in the Bear Island Channel, mainly small redfish were observed.