Cod Distribution in the Barents Sea under the Influence of Climate Changes

The impact of environmental conditions on the distribution of cod commercial stock in the Barents Sea in recent decades is assessed. Oceanographic data collected during surveys by PINRO and other available information about the hydrometeorological conditions in 1981–2021, as well as data on Russian catches of cod in the Barents Sea, are analyzed. From the early 1980s, warming has been observed in the Barents Sea against the background of increasing storm activity, which peaked in 2016, followed by a cooling trend in the Barents Sea, despite still warm and low-ice conditions. Under the influence of climate change, cod made increasingly long migrations north and east and spread more widely in the feeding areas. The most informative predictors of the impact of environmental conditions on cod distribution were Arctic ice extent, area-weighted mean temperature at a depth of 100 m, Atlantic water area in the 50–100 m layer, and parameters of the Barents Sea thermal frontal zones. The results can be used to predict cod distributions in the sea, depending on environmental conditions.