A research project supported by the Norwegian Research Council for the period 2003-2006.

Project leader:
Svein Sundby, Institute of Marine Research

Participating institutions:
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR),
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen (GFI, UoB),
Department of Fisheries and Marine Biology, University of Bergen (IFM, UoB),
Institute of Marine Research (IMR),
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC),
Physical Institute, University of Oslo (PHYS, UoB),
Ålesund Regional College (AUC)

Overall project goal:
To understand and quantify the impacts of Arctic climate variability on trophic transfer and ecosystem structure of the Barents Sea in order to improve the prediction of growth and recruitment on key fish species.

The over-all goal will be implemented by addressing objectives of five modules/work packages.

1. Explore the linkages between large-scale weather patterns, such as the NAO, and the regional and local climate, and investigate how such patterns cascades into spatio-temporal changes in the ocean climate parameters that are of importance for biomass production.

2. Explore the effects of ocean climate and circulation on the production and advection of Calanus finmarchicus onto the northern Norwegian Shelf and the Barents Sea.

3. Develop an integrated model system based on first-principles physics and biology to simulate distribution, transport, growth and survival of fish larvae from the spawning areas in spring to 0-group distribution in autumn when year-class strengths are largely determined.

4. Develop egg production models for the key fish species, with special focus on Arcto-Norwegian cod, Arcto-Norwegian haddock and Norwegian spring-spawning herring, based on the combined effects of food abundance and temperature on gonad production and maturation.

5. Develop a trophodynamic model system that integrates the models described above to simulate growth and recruitment of Barents Sea fish stocks. The trophodynamic model system will form the basis for sensitivity analysis to explore quantitatively the effects of the range of physical and biological parameters and processes of importance to the general problem of fish recruitment.