Barents Sea
The commercial fish stocks in the Barents Sea are, with a few exceptions, in a healthy condition. Positive trends are a growing capelin stock and increasing amounts of young redfish. In a long-term perspective, the water masses are warm, although on average, not as warm as in 2006. The stock level of blue whiting in the Barents Sea, which in a more southern species, has decreased in 2007.
Norwegian Sea
In the first half of 2007 the temperature was the highest measured in the southern Norwegian Sea since regular measurements started in 1977. The large stock of herring is in a very good shape, whereas mackerel and blue whiting, which partly use the Norwegian Sea as a feeding area, are both probably close to the precautionary limit. There is altogether more than 12 million tonnes of pelagic fish migrating through the area, feeding there through the summer. The high biomass of plankton feeding fish may explain the past years' decreasing trend in zooplankton biomass.
North Sea
The recruitment to the sandeel, Norway pout, North Sea cod and North Sea herring stocks has been poor for the last five-six years. This is probably caused by changes in the physical and biological conditions. The cod and sandeel stocks have been heavily exploited, and the recruitment failure is probably mainly due to over-fishing. The fishery for North Sea cod should have been stopped several years ago. Illegal landings and discards create considerable problems for the assessment of some stocks, particularly North Sea cod and mackerel.