The rise and fall of the Barents Sea capelin (Mallotus villosus): a multivariate scenario

[摘要] The Barents Sea capelin is a major forage species for many apex predators, for example, fish, marine mammals, sea birds, and man. The fishery for Barents Sea capelin increased exponentially in the early 1970s with the demise of the Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery along the Norwegian coast. The collapse of the herring spawning-stock resulted in the disappearance of young herring from the southern Barents Sea and the diet of the larger (ca. 3+ ages), piscivorous cod. Since then the only major dietary alternative for these larger cod has been capelin. The over-all trend in the biomass of the Barents Sea cod. however, has been one of decline since the late 1940s. As there was a marked decrease in the biomass of the 3+ ages of cod from ca. 3 * 106 tonnes to ca. 1 * 106 tonnes from 1974 to 1983, this would have simultaneously caused a great reduction in the predation pressure from cod on the capelin.The Barents Sea capelin is an r-strategist. Its weight-at-age is inversely related to population size, and thus ...

[学科分类] 自然科学（综合）