A review of early life history dynamics of Barents Sea cod

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

We review the literature on early life dynamics of Barents Sea (BS, also known as Northeast Arctic or Arcto-Norwegian) cod (Figure 1). Focus is on the biotic and abiotic drivers that accumulated determine the strength of the new year class, including recruitment, i.e., the abundance of a cohort surviving to enter the fishery. Also Russian work is included, parts of which until now has not been available to non-Russian readers. Physical drivers examined include sea temperature, advection and dispersal, wind-induced turbulence and light. Biotic mechanisms studied range from maternal effects and skipped spawning of the adult stock through egg quantity and quality, to prey availability for the larvae and effects of cannibalism on the juveniles. Statistical analyses of time series on recruitment itself, not one specific early life stage, and various explanatory variables are also reviewed. Finally, we by stage summarize the properties and mechanisms we believe to impose significant interannual variability in survival of BS cod, ultimately affecting recruitment.