Nature of the Murmansk region. Scary and exotic inhabitants of the Barents Sea (7 photos) Features of national fishing in northern latitudes

Summer holidays are getting closer and closer in 2018. Russians enjoy spending this long-awaited time not only in the south of the country. Amateur fishermen appreciate any opportunity to go out into nature, where they immerse themselves in the familiar and exciting process of fishing.

A great opportunity to turn your wildest fishing fantasies into a real rich catch is summer fishing in the Barents Sea. It will require from each participant who gets to the northern outskirts of the country (“savage” or “organized” tourist) courage, foresight, good physical fitness and careful preparation of equipment.

Features of national fishing in northern latitudes

Many people come to the Kola Peninsula not only for a wonderful catch, but also for the unique emotions that sea fishing gives. Local inhabitants of the depths were forced to adapt to the harsh climate, so they are much more active, powerful and larger than their river counterparts. Fishing in the Barents Sea is of 2 types:

1. In the numerous bays that dot the complex coastline, free fish can be caught from the shore, from a boat, or near the piers. There is one problem - you can only get to open water on the Sredny Peninsula, near the villages of Rybachy, Dalnie Zelentsy, Teriberka, and Ura-Guba.
2. Actually sea (paid) fishing, where from the yacht you can only see the endless expanse, seals, whales and birds, since you have to move away from the shore at a distance of 5-10 km. It is recommended to rent a ship (for a day with an overnight stay, without going ashore, for 45,000 rubles) or buy a 3-day comprehensive tour for 66,000 rubles (with catch processing on the ship, excursions, insurance, meals, paperwork).

Fauna of the Barents (Russian) Sea

• Shark (polar and spiny);
• Char;
• Catfish (three subspecies);
• Flounder;
• Capelin;
• Sea bass;
• Minek;
• Navaga;
• Gerbil;
• Haddock;
• Halibut (two subspecies);
• Saida;
• Herring (two subspecies);
• Saika;
• Salmon;
• Stingray;
• Cod.

What gear, bait, lures, groundbaits are used

For a sea adventure, you need to stock up on a large fishing assortment, which consists of several items. Tackle. A rod up to 2m long, with a test weight of 500-700g, a baitcasting reel with a diameter of 0.4-0.8mm and a 200-meter nylon or dacron fishing line, multi-core cords, a cord with a lead core, marine echo sounders, extractors, landing nets, hooks, loops - grips, cages, depth gauges, lights for night fishing.

The bait is:

• Marine polychaete worms, dung worms;
• Crabs and their meat;
• Shrimps;
• Squid;
• Mussels;
• Live bait;
• Pieces of fish;
• Spleen of birds and animals.

Groundbait is prepared from crushed fish, which is placed in a feeder and lowered into the water below the waterline (this method is only effective in areas with good current). They mostly consist of chopped mackerel, herring, sardines and other fish that are thrown overboard to attract sharks and tuna. Perforated canned food for domestic animals is widely used for catching flounder and cod.

Artificial bait (jig heads, twisters, vibrating tails, spinners) should be similar to real food. (Silicone baits treated with attractants will be a good help). It is important not to miss the moment to hook and land the fish before it spits out the bait. However, this standard rule of classical fishing is applicable everywhere and always.

Video of summer fishing in the Barents Sea:

About the Barents Sea.
This is the marginal sea Arctic Ocean washes the Russian and Norwegian shores. Its water area lies within the continental shallows, between the northern coast of Europe and three archipelagos - Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and New Earth.
The area of ​​the sea exceeds 1,400 thousand sq. km, the average depth is about 200 m, the maximum is 600 meters. Large rivers feeding the sea are Pechora and Indiga.

The largest island is Kolguev.
In the West it borders on the Norwegian Sea, in the South - on the White Sea, in the East - on Kara Sea, in the north - with the Arctic Ocean basin.
BARENTS SEA - marginal sea of ​​the North. Arctic approx. between the northern coast of Europe and Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and New. Earth. 1424 thousand km². Located on the shelf; depth is mainly from 360 to 400 m (maximum 600 m). Large. Kolguev.... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
BARENTS SEA - BARENTS SEA, marginal sea water of the Arctic approx. between northern the coast of Europe and the islands of Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. 1424 t. km2. Located on the shelf: deep. preim. from 360 to 400 m (max. 600 m). Large island Kolguev.... ...Russian history
BARENTS SEA - Arctic Ocean, between the northern coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and the islands of Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Area 1424 thousand km2, depth up to 600 m. Large island of Kolguev. The Pechora River flows into ... Modern encyclopedia
Whitefish family. One of the hard to define groups. There are believed to be 6 species in Northern Europe, which are divided into more than 50 subspecies and forms. Whitefishes are related to another family - salmon fish. What both families have in common is the presence of an adipose fin. But there are also differences: whitefish have larger scales and a smaller mouth. lack of teeth on the jaws and a deep notch on the caudal fin. The color of whitefish is silver-gray. They are very widespread in both rivers and lakes.
In the Murmansk region, whitefish is the most important commercial fish. Forms a large number of groups - each large lake has more than one herd, which differ in appearance, lifestyle, and behavior. Some herds migrate. Whitefish feed on various small crustaceans. Spawning usually occurs in the fall, but timing may vary among groups. Eggs are deposited on pebble shallows. Its further development until hatching takes place in 2
The same family includes vendace and peled.
Family Salmonidae. Representatives of this family have quite large sizes. The body (except for the head) is completely covered with scales. All have an adipose fin, which is located between the dorsal and caudal fins. The origin of this family is connected only with the northern hemisphere; they came to more southern bodies of water due to acclimatization. Many species make feeding migrations to the sea and thrive in cold waters. Due to the ability to live in both marine (salty) and fresh water and migrations from rivers to lakes and seas of these fish are called migratory. The most important migratory species is salmon.
Atlantic (noble) salmon. In the North of Russia, Atlantic salmon is called salmon. This is a large fish, reaching a length of 1.5 m. Individual specimens can weigh up to 30-40 kg. The body of salmon is elongated, moderately compressed laterally, with a relatively thin caudal peduncle. The caudal fin in adult fish has a shallow notch. The color of Atlantic salmon changes at different stages of its life cycle. Juveniles have from 8 to 11 wide dark transverse stripes on their sides, between which small red spots are visible, hence the name parr. Towards the end of the river life period, the juveniles change their color: the transverse striping disappears, and the body color from yellowish-greenish or olive becomes silver. Salmon that live in the sea have a silver-white body underneath and a brown-green back. Small X-shaped dark spots are scattered across the surface of the body, especially above the lateral line. As spawning approaches, sexually mature fish begin to acquire nuptial plumage (loose). They lose their silver color and become bronze or brown. Red and orange spots appear on the head and sides. Not only the appearance changes, but also the skeleton. In males, the front teeth enlarge, the snout and lower jaw lengthen and curve in a hook-like manner (sometimes similar changes are observed in old females). During this period, the fish stop feeding.
Being a typically migratory fish, Atlantic salmon spends part of its life in the sea and part in the river. On the Kola Peninsula, Lake Imandra is home to salmon, all life cycle which takes place in fresh water. Salmon from the rivers of the Barents and White Seas feed in the Norwegian Sea, where they stay close to the shore - at depths of no more than 120 m. They feed on capelin, sand lance, herring, smelt and other fish, as well as some crustaceans. Having lived at sea from 1 to 3-4 years. adult individuals migrate (up to 1.5 thousand km long) to the rivers where they hatched. Here, sea-raised salmon reproduce.
Salmon spawning occurs in October - November, when the water temperature in the rivers drops to 9-7 ° C. For this, areas with a current speed of 0.5 to 1.5 m/ss and depths of 0.2 to 1.5-2 m are selected. The female uses body movements and tail, digs a depression 2-3 m long in the sand and pebble soil, where it lays eggs, which are immediately inseminated by males. She then uses her tail to cover the eggs with gravel and pebbles, thus making a nest. Spawning of each female can last up to two weeks. During this time she nested several times.
Most adult Atlantic salmon die after the first spawning. Some of the spawned spawners survive and come to spawn a second time. Individual specimens can survive even after the second spawning and come to the river for the third, and in exceptional cases, for the fourth time. The surviving spawned individuals (the roller) sometimes roll into the sea water soon after spawning, but more often they remain in the river for the winter and leave in the spring after the ice breaks up. At the same time, they begin to actively feed. An interesting biological feature of salmon is the presence of dwarf males in its population. Unlike ordinary migratory fish, they never leave rivers and become sexually mature already in the second year of life with a length of only about 10 cm. In appearance, dwarf males differ little from juveniles (pargers), but they participate in spawning together with ordinary males.
Hatching of the embryos occurs in April - May. Juveniles spend from 1 to 5 years in rivers, most often 2-4 years. It grows slowly during this period: before migrating to the sea average length juveniles are 10-15 cm, and body weight does not exceed 20 g.
Despite the high fertility of salmon (one female from 3 to 10 thousand eggs), the commercial return from eggs spawned by the female is very low - only 0.04-0.12%,” with 87-90% of the fry emerging from the nests dying on the first year of life in the river, and less than 1% survive to go to sea.
Industrial salmon fishing was carried out in 18 rivers of the Kola Peninsula. However, due to unsustainable fishing, the numbers of many populations decreased significantly, and fishing had to be stopped. So. As a result of hydraulic construction, the populations of the Teriberka and Voronya rivers were lost. In the future, there may be a loss of Drozdovka populations. Ivanovka and Iokangi. Currently, only some rivers of the peninsula have preserved salmon populations of commercial importance (the Var-Zuga and Umba rivers). The largest population in the Barents Sea basin is the Pechora population, the average annual number of which in different periods ranged from 80 to 160 thousand. In the last decade, annual catches have decreased by 2 times. There are many reasons for this. Continued rafting of timber on salmon rivers, construction various kinds Hydroelectric power station. Unsustainable fishing, poaching, pollution of water bodies with industrial waste - all together lead to a decrease in the reserves of this most valuable fish in our region.
Pink salmon. Work on the acclimatization of Pacific salmon - pink salmon - in the waters of the Barents and White Seas began in 1956. Caviar with Far East was delivered by plane to fish hatcheries in our region, where it was pre-incubated. Over the course of a number of years, hatcheries in the Northern Basin produced from 6 to 36 million juveniles. In addition, for several years at the Taybolsky plant, additional fry were obtained from eggs collected from local producers. In some years, pink salmon entered the rivers of the European North in large quantities. Such massive visits to the Kola Peninsula were observed in 1960, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1977. After the import of caviar ceased in 1978, the number of pink salmon began to decline. In recent years, single specimens have entered the rivers of the Barents Sea basin.
Spawning of pink salmon in the rivers of the Murmansk region occurs in August - October when the water temperature in the river drops to 5 ° C and below. In sexually mature individuals, the nuptial plumage begins to appear while still at sea, but it takes on its final form already at the spawning grounds. The spawning of pink salmon is similar to the spawning of other salmon. The average fertility of a female is 1.5 thousand eggs. After spawning, the spawners die. leaves the nests the next year when the water temperature in the river is above 5° C and almost immediately migrates to the sea. In a year. Having become sexually mature, pink salmon return to the river to procreate. The entry of fish begins in May, reaches its maximum in July - August and continues until October.
Many years of work on acclimatization of fbush in the Barents and White Seas did not produce encouraging results. However, this species of salmon can be quite used as an object of mariculture. In this regard, in recent years, the development of methods for pasture cultivation of pink salmon has begun in Bely Mors. For these purposes, in 1984-^-1985. The delivery of pink salmon caviar from the Magadan region to the Onega fish hatchery was resumed, which was reconstructed specifically for the incubation of caviar of this species.
In recent years, a new species has been used for acclimatization - steelhead salmon, of which rainbow trout is one of the varieties. This species was originally distributed in the rivers of the West Coast North America, but then they actively began to resettle it on other continents. Representatives of this species grow well and are more resistant to high temperatures, tolerate slight pollution of water bodies, so it is used for breeding in reservoirs where heated water is discharged from nuclear power plants. For example, at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant such experiments had some success.
However, the release of new species into local water bodies is highly undesirable, since they can displace valuable local species such as brown trout. It lives in lakes and can weigh up to 4 kg. For spawning it rises into rivers and streams from fast current. The biology of brown trout is similar to that of its close relative, salmon. Brown trout have 2 main forms - migratory and residential. It is extremely sensitive to water quality and absolutely cannot tolerate pollution of water bodies.
The rapids of most rivers in the Murmansk region are inhabited by brook trout, which are smaller than brown trout, although both belong to the same species. The difference in size is explained by their habitat. hence, differences in nutrition and growth rates. Trout and brown trout differ in color only as adults, but juveniles are very similar.
Arctic char, or palia, a fish with very small scales that reaches large sizes (up to 10 kg or more), should also be included in this species. Lake char is much smaller. Char is a valuable fishery target, like other salmon. It is very sensitive to water quality, temperature conditions, pollution chemicals, as well as to acclimatizing species. In this regard, special methods of protecting char are needed to prevent its loss from the ichthyofauna of our water bodies.
Grayling (Harpus family) is also sensitive to unfavorable factors. This species is widespread in water bodies of the Murmansk region. The size of grayling is small, usually does not exceed 40 cm (rarely - up to 50 cm), weight - in the range of 1 -1.5 kg. This is a typical river fish that prefers clean clear water, rich in oxygen. Grayling also lives in lakes. It feeds on insect larvae (caddisflies, mayflies), as well as mollusks, small crustaceans and adult insects that have fallen into the water, especially during the mass summer of mayflies and caddisflies.
Smelt family. Small relatives of noble salmon and brown trout. Very widespread. Many of them are typical marine species, some go to fresh water bodies to spawn, and a small part is constantly there. Representatives of this family have dorsal and adipose fins, and scales fall off easily. Freshwater smelt rarely exceeds 20 cm. The mouth is large, there are large teeth on the jaws. Freshly caught smelt smells like fresh cucumber. Spawning takes place in early spring, while still under the ice. In addition to the fact that smelt is of commercial importance, it is also of great importance as an object of mass food for other species of fish. Very sensitive to water pollution.
Capelin. This is a medium-sized schooling pelagic fish with a body length of up to 20-22 cm. It is found in the Arctic waters of the North Atlantic, including throughout the Barents Sea. Sometimes, in years of large numbers, it enters the White Sea. During the year it makes regular migrations (feeding, wintering, spawning). Depending on the season, fish concentrate in different areas of the sea. In summer, during the feeding period, schools of large mature capelin live in the northeastern regions of the sea; smaller immature (at the age of 1-2 years) accumulates in central regions. In September - October, with the seasonal cooling of the Barents Sea waters, the wintering migration of sexually mature capelin begins: from the feeding areas, the fish moves in the southern and southwestern directions. During the initial wintering period in the central regions of the Barents Sea, accumulations of individuals of different age groups are observed - mixing of mature and immature fish occurs here. Later, separation occurs: large individuals (14-20 cm long) migrate to the southern regions for spawning, and immature capelin remain in wintering areas (north of 74°30"N).
The main spawning of Barents Sea capelin occurs most often from February to May in the areas of Finnmarken and on the Murmansk coast at depths from 12 to 280 m. Females spawn weakly sticky eggs directly to the bottom - onto sand or fine gravel. In the period from April to June, a massive hatching of larvae occurs, which are carried from the spawning areas by the Murmansk and Novaya Zemlya currents in the eastern and northeastern directions. At the end of August - beginning of September, juvenile capelin (its length at this time is 3-4 cm) spreads in the central part of the Barents Sea (up to 76-77° latitude). and to the east it reaches the shores of Novaya Zemlya. In October - November, capelin underyearlings, mixing with mature fish that come from the feeding grounds from the north, create wintering aggregations.
Capelin is characterized by a rapid growth rate in the initial period of life. By the end of the first year, the length of the fish averages 10-12 cm. Barents Sea capelin reaches its maximum length (20-22 cm) at the age of 4 years. The maximum age for males is 7 years, for females - 6. Capelin is a typical planktivore.
Its main food is abundant species of meso- and macroplankton (calanus, euphausiids, hyperiids, chstognaths). In general, capelin feed on any available food. Following food, it makes vertical migrations, the daily rhythm of which is most pronounced in March - April: with sunrise, capelin descends to the bottom layers of the sea, and with sunset it rises to the upper horizons. In summer, under polar day conditions, vertical migrations, although observed, do not have a clear daily rhythm.
In recent years, capelin stocks have been severely undermined, mainly due to the irrational method of fishing - deep-sea trawls. Therefore, it was decided to stop fishing for several years to restore capelin stocks.
Cod family. Exclusively marine fish (except for one species). They have 2-3 dorsal fins and 1-2 anal fins, a barbel on the chin, and small scales. Distinctive feature These fish are characterized by the absence of spines on all fins. IN European waters There are about 30 species, of which the most important is cod, which is very widespread. Keeps in packs. It feeds on various crustaceans, worms, fish, especially small species such as gerbil and capelin. Adult fish migrate as different races of cod spawn at different depths and in different areas.
Cod has long been the most important commercial species. If earlier there were quite large specimens - up to 90 kg, then in recent years cod has been much smaller in size - on average about 10 kg or less. The biology of cod is well understood, but there are still many problems. The most important of them is determining the size of the fish catch and proper management of the fishery, because the cod population in the Barents Sea basin has been greatly undermined.
From other commercial sea ​​fish include sea bass, haddock, halibut and catfish. Among the representatives of freshwater fauna, in addition to the species already mentioned, it is worth noting pike and river perch, which are found in many reservoirs and are well known to amateur fishermen.
Finishing short review class of fish, we note that the ichthyofauna of the Murmansk region is rich and diverse. The Barents Sea has long been a fishery in the seas, lakes and rivers of the Kola North. The most important commercial species were and still are cod, halibut, and salmon. Excessive fishing, irrational fishing methods, and severe environmental pollution have sharply reduced fish stocks. It is no coincidence that in recent years the fishing fleet has been fishing far beyond our territorial waters. At the end of the 80s, the question arose about introducing fish into the Barents Sea. Several fish hatcheries were built, 3 fishery reserves were organized on the rivers Note, Ponoye and Varzuga, and the fight against poaching and pollution of water bodies is underway. However, this is clearly not enough and more drastic measures are required to prevent the depletion of the composition of the ichthyofauna and the population size of especially valuable species.
2009-2010 Valiullin Alexander
Severomorsk Children's Art House

BARENCEVO SEA.

Geographical location. Bottom relief.

The Barents Sea is limited from the north by the archipelagos of Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land, from the west by Bear Island, from the east by Novaya Zemlya, and from the south by the mainland (from Cape North Cape to the Yugra Ball). In its configuration, it resembles a rhombus, the meridial axis of which is 1300-1400 km, and the latitudinal axis is 1100-1200 km.

The area of ​​the Barents Sea is estimated at 1360 thousand km 2. The sea is located within the continental shallows and is therefore relatively shallow. The greatest depth of the sea is 548 m. This depth is located in the western part of the sea, between the meridians 20 and 21°. As you move east, the depths decrease. The average sea depth is 199.3 m.

The Barents Sea is a part of the European continent, which in a relatively late era sank and was flooded with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Traces of river valleys are still preserved in the contours of the bottom. This is also proven by the relatively shallow depths, flat, slightly hilly bottom topography (banks), the presence of long and wide valleys (troughs) and the geological community of the islands. rocks with continental rocks bounding this sea.

The deepest trench is between the mainland and Bear Island. The depths here reach 500 m. The second trench runs between the Bear Islands and Spitsbergen. There is less depth here. The third trench is between Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land and the fourth is between Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. In addition, in the middle of the sea there is a vast depression with a depth of about 400 m.

Shallow waters - the central upland, the Perseus upland, the Spitsbergen Bank, the Novaya Zemlya shallow water, the Kaninsko-Kolguevsky shallow water, the Murmansk shallow water, the Goose Bank - are separated by gutters and depressions. Depths in shallow waters do not exceed 200 m, usually ranging from 100 to 200 m. Shallow waters and banks are the main fishing areas in the Barents Sea.

Of the rivers flowing into the Barents Sea, the most significant is. Smaller rivers are , , (Motovsky Bay), , (Kola Bay), Indiga, , Chesha and others ()

Banks and soil.

The soils of the Barents Sea are mainly not of oceanic origin, but of terrigenous origin - sands, silty sands, sandy silts. In addition, in the Barents Sea there are soils of autochthonous origin. In the western part of the Barents Sea, the soils are dense, in the southwestern part spiculose silt was deposited, in the southeastern part there are yellow soils - the result of river removal, in the northern part there are brown soils containing a lot of iron and manganese.

The shores of the Barents Sea in the southwestern part of the fiord type are high, steep, composed of ancient crystalline rocks. These are the shores of Finnmarken in Norway. The Murmansk shores of Russia are also of fiord type. From Cape Kanin Nos to the east the shores are sloping and low.

Of the bays, the largest are Motovsky, Kola, of the bays - Teriberskaya, Cheshskaya with the inner, smaller Indigskaya Bay.

Hydrology.

For the Barents Sea, water exchange with the ocean is of great importance. The Gulf Stream waters emerging from the Gulf of Mexico give rise to the warm Atlantic Current, the branches of which penetrate into the Norwegian and Barents Seas. At the border of the Barents Sea, south of the Medvezheostrovskaya Bank, the Atlantic Current will split into the Spitsbergen and North Cape branches. The Spitsbergen branch, more powerful, is sent further in the form of a deep (covered arctic water) flows into the polar basin, where it forms a warm intermediate layer. This layer was first discovered by Nansen and explored by the Papaninites during their drift on the ice floe in 1937.

The waters of the North Cape branch enter the Barents Sea between Bear Island and Cape North Cape. Due to the peculiarities of the bottom topography, this branch splits into 4 jets. Of particular importance are two southern jets that affect the water regime of the southern part of the sea. The coastal, Murmansk, branch runs along the shores of Murman, heading from the North Cape to the Kanin Peninsula. The second branch runs further north and its waters reach Novaya Zemlya. This flow scheme was established by N.M. Knipovich in 1906. Later, in the thirties, other Russian researchers made some additions to this scheme that did not change the essence of the scheme established by N.M. Knipovich.

Warm (4-12°) and at the same time saltier (34.8-35.2 ‰) Atlantic waters, entering the Barents Sea and meeting local colder and less salty waters, form the so-called polar front. When different waters meet physical composition Atlantic waters cool and sink. Powerful vertical circulation causes abundant aeration of deep waters and the removal of nutritious organic substances to the surface layers. As a result, biological productivity in the polar front zone is especially high.

According to L.A. Zenkevich, benthos biomass in these areas reaches 600-1000 g per 1 m2, decreasing outside these areas to 20-50 g per 1 m2.

The Barents Sea, being a transitional sea between the Norwegian - north-boreal and Kara - arctic seas, is characterized by a corresponding temperature: in the western part, even in winter, the water temperature is positive from the surface to the bottom. In the middle part of the northern half of the sea, even in summer only a thin surface layer warms up, and deeper water has a negative temperature. In the southern half of the middle part, at a depth of 200-250 m, the water warms up in summer to 1.5-2.0°. In the northeastern part of the sea in summer and at the surface, the water temperature remains low. Off the coast of Murman, the surface temperature in August, during the period of maximum warming, reaches 12°C and even slightly more. The most low temperature in the Barents Sea at a depth of 50-75 m.

The northern and eastern parts of the sea are covered with ice for a significant part of the year. The southwestern part does not freeze, as a result of which the Murmansk coast is accessible for ships in winter.

The summer ice boundary usually runs along the line Spitsbergen - the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya, but in different years This line either moves to the north, or, on the contrary, passes further south.

Ichthyofauna. Industrial fishing.

In 1921, a participant in the Northern Scientific Fishing Expedition E.K. Suvorov, during trawl operations in the Barents Sea, first noted the warming of the Barents Sea. It affected the distribution of ice and the area of ​​ice cover. According to N.N. Zubov, the area of ​​ice cover decreased in 1921 -1931. by 20% compared to 1901 -1906. Warming has also affected the distribution aquatic organisms. Cod began to appear off the coast of Novaya Zemlya. For the first time, significant concentrations of commercial-sized cod were discovered by V.K. Soldatov in 1921 at 69°31′ north latitude and 57°21° east longitude, that is, far to the east, where this fish had not been discovered by anyone before. Cod was even recorded in the Kara Sea. Mackerel gar (Scomberesox saurus) is a southern fish. Previously, this fish did not come east of the North Cape, but in 1937 it was discovered off the coast of Novaya Zemlya. In eastern Murman, a previously unknown perciform fish (Brama rayi) was recently discovered.

In terms of diversity of animal population, the Barents Sea is the richest in the European part of Russia. It contains about 2,500 species, not counting the protozoa. There are 113 species of fish here. The entire animal population of the Barents Sea is divided into three zoogeographic groups: arctic, boreal or boreal-arctic and warm-water. The Arctic group, living at temperatures no higher than 2-3°C, includes some mollusks, in particular Joldia arctica, many echinoderms and about 20 species of cod fish, navaga, polar flounder, some eelpouts, etc.

The boreal-Arctic group, associated with warm currents, includes some mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans and most commercial fish - cod, haddock, pollock, herring, sea bass, sea flounder, etc.

The warm-water group includes mackerel (mackerel), whiting (Odontogadus merlangus), and Argentina silus.

In terms of biological productivity, the Barents Sea is the most productive sea in the Arctic basin. In this regard, a huge number of fish from the North Atlantic Ocean come here to feed in the summer.

The richest areas were near the Medvezheostrovskaya Bank, in the zone between the 35th and 40th meridians, the Kanin Nos area and the area west and south of Novaya Zemlya. These areas coincide with the polar front lines. The unproductive areas are the northern, northeastern and western.

Of the 113 species of fish living in the Barents Sea, 97 are marine, 13 are anadromous and 3 are mixed (living in both fresh and sea ​​water). Among marine fish, approximately half are boreal-arctic, and about 20 species are arctic. The remaining marine fish species are accidental newcomers from temperate and even tropical seas. Over 40% of all fish species are found only in the western part of the sea. As you move east, the number of fish species decreases noticeably and in the eastern part it is approximately 50% of the total number for the Barents Sea.

Particularly abundant in the Barents Sea are cod (12 species), flounder (11 species), eelpout (13 species), and gobies (Cottidae) (10 species). Salmonids in the Barents Sea basin are represented by eight species.

About 20 species of fish are used commercially, and even then not to the full extent. These types include the following:

1. Cod (Gadus morhua).

2. Murmansk herring (Clupea harengus).

3. Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus).

4. Sea bass: golden (Sebastes marinus), beaked (Sebastes mentella), small (Sebastes viviparus).

5. Pollock (Pollachius virens).

6. Capelin (Mallotus villosus).

7. Catfish: spotted Anarhichas minor, striped Anarhichas lupus, blue An. latifrons.

8. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida).

9. Navaga (Eleginus navaga).

10. Salmon (Salmo salar).

11. Char (Salvelinus alpinus).

12. Flounder: sea flounder (Pleuronectes platessa), ruffed flounder (Limanda limanda), river flounder (Pleuronectes flesus septentrionalis), ruff flounder (Hippoglossoides platessoides).

13. Halibuts: white (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and black (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides).

14. Czech-Pechora herring (Clupea harengus pallasi suworowi).

15. Gerbil (Ammodytis hexapterus marinus).

16. Sharks: polar (Somniosus microcephalus), spiny shark (Squalus acanthias).

17. Star stingray (Raja radiata).

The main commercial fish of the Barents Sea: cod, herring, haddock, sea bass.

114 species of fish belonging to 41 families are known for the Barents Sea. As you move east, within the Barents Sea, species diversity The number of fish is rapidly decreasing, and in the eastern part of the sea barely half of the indicated number was recorded. In this case, the main negative factor is a significant decrease in temperature and mainly severe winter conditions and floating ice.

Among all the fish of the Barents Sea, the following families are distinguished by the number of species: cod (12 species), flounder (11 species), eelpout (13 species), goby (10 species) and whitefish (7 species). Most families are represented by one or two species. Such single species are also important commercial targets - sea bass (Sebastes marinus) and herring (Clupea harengus).

A little more than 20 species can be classified as commercial fish of the Barents Sea, of which only about a dozen are of the most significant importance. In the first place in the fishery are cod (Gadus callarias), haddock (Gadus aeglefitius), sea bass and herring (Fig. 205).

Figure 205.

The importance of these fish in the fishery varies greatly from year to year (Table 50).

Minor fisheries include several species of catfish (Anarrhichas), flounder (Pleuronectes platessa), ruffed flounder (Hippoglossoides platessoides), halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), pollock (Gadus virens) and shark (Somniosus macrocephalus).

The discovery by N. Knipovich at the very beginning of this century of the possibility of large-scale development of trawl fishing in the Barents Sea was not used for a long time in Tsarist Russia, and fishing on Murman was of a purely artisanal coastal nature of longline fishing. Only attempts were made to organize a trawl fleet by private industrialists. During Soviet times, trawl fishing began to develop rapidly (Table 51).

In 1938, in the Barents Sea, the trawl fleet of the USSR, England and Germany produced about 6 million cwt. To this should be added at least 1 million quintals from coastal fishing.

Herring fishing in the Barents Sea is not yet regular, but in other years it provides our country with up to 1 million quintals.

There are also abundant fish in the Barents Sea that are very valuable from a nutritional point of view, which are still very little or not yet caught in the fishery, but represent very great opportunities in the future. These, by the way, include small pelagic fish: capelin (Mallotus villosus) and cod (Boreogadus saida), ruff flounder and some others (Fig. 206).

Figure 206.

This entire mass of commercial fish, estimated in millions of tons, requires significantly larger quantities of food organisms - plankton and benthos - for their nutrition. We have determined the total amount of both at 200–240 million tons; In some part, this huge mass of organisms is used by commercial fish. The main fish species are distributed according to their diet mainly among different food groups of organisms - some feed on plankton (herring, sea bass), others on benthos (sea flounder, haddock), and others on fish (cod) and planktonic crustaceans.

Small mass pelagic fish are sometimes used by a wide variety of fish and other animals, as can be seen in the example of polar cod.

The main food of cod is small pelagic fish: herring, capelin, juvenile cod and haddock and arctic cod. Fish makes up at least 60% of cod's diet. In second place after fish are large planktonic crustaceans from amphipods, euphausiids and decapods. In the eastern part of the sea, a significant part of the diet consists of bottom animals - crab, hermit crab and various other larger representatives of amphipods, isopods and coumacea, and to a lesser extent worms and mollusks.

Haddock, in contrast to cod, feeds on benthos: mollusks, worms, crustaceans and echinoderms.

The main food of herring, as we indicated, is planktonic copepods.

It remains to say a few words about birds, since they are essential for marine organisms, mainly for planktonic crustaceans and small fish.

Large bird colonies are concentrated along the western coasts of Novaya Zemlya. The main form is the guillemot (Uria lomvia), the number of which on Novaya Zemlya is estimated at 4 million. The waters of the Barents Sea, teeming with life, provide abundant food for this entire mass of birds, which consume mainly capelin and cod from fish, and euphausiids from crustaceans.

Some readers had a reasonable question... Why actually dive there at all?

I admit honestly, it’s quite difficult to explain... The world that hides under water is so amazing and fantastic, so unlike anything in our everyday superficial life, that it is almost impossible to describe it in words... Even photographs, in fact, can convey little ... However, the question is hanging in the air and I will still try to answer it...

I won’t talk for long here about the kelp gardens, meditatively swaying in time with the movement of the water masses...

Or about the colorful underwater “flowers” ​​of sea anemones, which feel surprisingly good in such cold water...

Or about the glades sea ​​urchins, which lie on the sandy bottom, like pebbles on the beach...

Or about starfish, which are so fun to attach to your “epaulets”...

Or about strange fish that you won’t find in other seas...

Or about bizarre monsters - Kamchatka crabs, at the sight of which gourmets dreamily swallow their saliva...

I’ll probably tell you about the birds!

Yes, yes... this is not a reservation! It is about the birds, for the sake of which we went on such a long journey!..

For reference:
Guillemots are sea auks the size of an average duck (0.75 to 1.5 kg). They have a rather modest color: black above, white below; the chin, throat and sides of the head are chocolate brown. They mostly live in the sea, coming to land only for nesting periods. They feed on small fish, shrimp, young crabs, sea ​​worms. They are considered the most common inhabitants of bird colonies in the Far North.

And these birds... DIVE!!!

This is actually how they get their food. But guillemots don’t just lower their heads or bodies under water, but fully dive to depths of up to 20 meters, where they can stay for up to several minutes! Underwater they move with the help of wings, which they use to fully row in the right direction...

Yes, most of all it resembles a real underwater flight!!! The fact is that birds have positive buoyancy. To stay underwater they need to constantly row! As soon as they stop doing this, they are immediately carried to the surface...

At the same time, the speeds at which they move in the water column are simply amazing! And the trail of bubbles that trails behind each bird completes the picture!

“Guillemots lubricate their feathers with a special composition, which is produced by the coccygeal gland, located on the back at the base of the tail. This composition of the bird is evenly distributed throughout the body with its beak; it helps maintain the orderly structure of the plumage and protects it from getting wet. Because of this lubricant, guillemots appear silvery underwater - this is the glistening air bubbles stuck to the lubricated feathers.”*

By the way, it should be noted that they are not very good flyers. Narrow wings, perfectly adapted for swimming underwater, are frankly poor at keeping the bird in the air. Therefore, guillemots cannot take off from a standing position; they need a run-up platform or a cliff from which they “fall” down and, already in the process of falling, stand on the wing. It’s funny that if you startle a flock sitting on the water, half of the birds will scatter and fly up, and the other half, without hesitation, will go under the water and emerge somewhere further away.

Murres are not at all afraid of divers... Moreover, they even specifically dive towards them, out of curiosity. It’s amazing to watch how a bird rushing past you at a decent speed follows you very accurately with its eyes!!! At the same time, they “fly up” quite close, sometimes even at a distance of 1-2 meters... And some even circle around, looking at the strange creature from all sides! You can’t help but wonder who is watching whom...

The first bird sets the tone: if she dives to look at the submariners, the rest are guaranteed to follow her!!! The active diving of some birds attracts the attention of others, and now a real bird soup is bubbling around!!! This fantastic spectacle... It’s impossible to convey in words!

The most decent video from those places that I managed to find on the net:

It's a mix of different films... Already the first film gives a good idea of ​​what is underwater in the Barents Sea (yes, yes... we saw exactly that... exactly). Birds appear after 25 minutes. And after the 30th minute, another inhabitant of these places appears, whom we also happened to meet on that trip... But that’s another story!..

The Barents Sea, or rather the Semiostrovie Nature Reserve, where these bird colonies are located, is one of the few places in the world where it was possible not so long ago to dive with guillemots!.. Now, due to the fact that the research vessel "Kartesh" has stopped existence, getting there has become almost impossible. Although