Ecology of Arctic cod Boreogadus saida (Gadiformes, Gadidae) and its fishery potential in Kara Sea

Abstract

According to the bottom trawl-survey data, 97% of the ichthyomass in the southwestern region of the Kara Sea are composed of the Arctic cod Boreogadus saida; its stock is significantly higher than the previously registered resources. The Arctic cod is most unevenly distributed across the water area and capable to form the high-density aggregations, which can be caught by the targeted trawls. A wide range of the age composition (0+−6+), the size-age composition, and the growth rates of the Arctic cod in the trawl catches in the Kara Sea, which are different from those in the fish in the adjacent Barents Sea, can indicate their assignment of the Arctic cod in these seas to different populations.