ABSTRACT
The Barents Sea was traditionally believed to be one of the most productive areas of the World Ocean. The flows meeting in the Barents Sea form the polar front where the more saline Atlantic water sinks when cooled. The state of the main commercial populations of fish in the Barents Sea indicates a serious upset in the ecosystem. The decline in the populations of herring, capelin, redfish, cod, haddock, polar cod, and shrimp has brought about some imbalance in the entire ecosystem, and a break in the trophic interrelations existing among the species. The simultaneous effect of both factors manifests itself in an inadequate recruitment to the stocks of almost all commercial species of fish. National quotas are annually set up on the basis of the total admissible catch of each species within the framework of the Joint Soviet-Norwegian Commission on Fisheries.
