The pelagic fish stocks, pilot whales and squid in Faroese waters - migration pattern, availability to fisheries and possible links to oceanographic events

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

Around the Faroe Plateau a complicated system of ocean currents at various depths is created by the advection of warm Atlantic water from south and west, and cold east Icelandic water north of the Faroes running to the south and east and the very cold deep Norwegian Sea water running south and west trough the Faroe Channels. Time series of salinity and temperature data indicate the strength of each of these currents to vary both inter annually and between years. The availability to fishery of several pelagic fish stocks, pilot whales and squids migrating regularly or occasionally to and trough the Faroe area has also varied. In the paper biological and fisheries time series are presented and the possible links between the variations in the fisheries data and the variations in the hydrography are explored. In addition, special oceanographic events are described and their effect on the fish stocks and the production in the area discussed.