Oceanographic conditions in the seas of the north European basin and the north Atlantic in 2017 and their influence on commercial fish distribution

Abstract

Summarized results from ecosystem marine surveys in the Barents sea and adjacent water areas by Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) as well as the available information on hydrometeorological conditions and Russian fishing activity in the area of the Northern Fishery Basin in 2017 are presented. The analysis of temporal and spatial changes in oceanographic conditions happened in the Barents and Norwegian seas and fishing areas of the North Atlantic due to the influence of multi-scale processes in the atmosphere and ocean was made. The results from the analysis of the effect of peculiar hydrographic conditions on distribution and migrations of commercial fish species in the Barents and Norwegian Seas and to the west of the British Isles are given. Researches carried out in 2017 showed that the thermal state of the waters in the North European Basin as a whole remained at the level of warm and anomalously warm years. The heat content of water in the area west of the British Isles has significantly increased compared to the previous years. The absence of significant changes in environmental conditions in the Irminger Sea and most areas of the North-West Atlantic is noted.