"Dramatic" Shift In Russian Arctic As Southern Species Arrive In Force; Pollock, Halibut, Snow Crab
The researchers that were on board the «Professor Levanidov» on the recent trans-arctic expedition have remarkable stories to tell. Among the discoveries made was halibut on more than 200 meter depths in the Laptev Sea and snow crab in the northeastern parts of the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea. They also found Alaska pollock in the waters of the Chukchi Sea and large numbers of big and mature polar cod in the Kara Sea.
The latter fish is more or less eradicated from the Barents Sea where other southern species have taken its place. It is the massive influx of Atlantic waters in 2019 that has spurred the spreading of the new species to the region, research institute VNIRO informs. All the species mentioned traditionally belong to other far away waters and have migrated to the remote area in the course of the last few years.
«The climate changes of the past decade have swept away the borders between Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific water masses, including the respective characteristics of these waters, and lead to the shift in marine life in the oceans,» the researchers say about their conclusions.
The «Professor Levanidov» in July set out from Vladivostok on Russia’s far eastern coast and on 2nd October arrived in Murmansk. The research ship owned and managed by VNIRO underway conducted unique ecosystem studies, including of local biological resources, ecosystems, feed basis, as well as climatic and hydrographic conditions. According to institute Director Kirill Kolonchin, the trans-arctic expedition is the first ever of its kind for Russian marine and fisheries research.
EDIT
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/ecology/2019/11/marine-researchers-find-dramatic-ecosystem-shift-russian-arctic-waters
