Photo: IMR

European lobster

European lobster is found along the coast in the temperate region of the North-East Atlantic, extending from the warm waters of Morocco into the colder waters around the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. The species is also found in the Mediterranean Sea, but not in the Baltic. The northernmost self-sustaining population is found in Tysfjord (68°15’N) in northern Norway.

Edible crab

Edible crab are found along the Norwegian coast from the Swedish border to Troms County, and an increasing by-catch of the species in gillnets indicates that the resource is spreading northwards. Spawning ground seems to be relatively sheltered sandy bottoms, while adult males, settling juveniles and nursery grounds are in rocky areas exposed to the open sea.

Shrimp is a circumpolar species. The largest stocks occur in the West Atlantic off Canada and Greenland and more than two thirds of the total world catch of 440 thousand tonnes annually come from this area.

Red King crab was introduced deliberately to the Barents Sea in the 1960s by Soviet scientists, and the stock has increased heavily in abundance as well as in distribution. The crab is now common in coastal areas from Cape Kanin in the east to Northern Troms in the west. The crab is also expected to spread northwards into the Barents Sea.

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European lobster

Edible crab

Shrimp

Red King crab

The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs