degree of commercial utilization of the fishing resources of the North 

 Sea, particularly herring, is approaching the ultimate limit. 



Baltic Sea. The fisb productivity of the Baltic Sea is relatively 

 low, slightly over 1 t/km^. Some 0.7 -lO" t of fish are removed from the 

 sea each year, including 0.3 '10° t by the USSR. The commercial 

 ichthyofauna of the Baltic Sea consists primarily of massive 

 planktonophages--the Baltic herring and sprat, Baltic cod, feeding on 

 macroplankton and benthos, plus typical benthophages--the plaice. 

 Furthermore, we also find salmon, whitefish, vimba, eel, etc. The fish 

 resources of this sea are rather intensively utilized. The fish 

 productivity of its individual regions differs greatly: in Botnicheskiy 

 Bay, it is 0.5-0.6 t/km^, in Kurshskiy Bay, about 9 t/km^. In 1973, the 

 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea signed a convention calling for 

 joint development and application of measures for the regulation of 

 fishing in order to assure efficient utilization of the biologic 

 resources of the sea. 



Barents Sea. The abundance of food in the form of benthos and 

 plankton, in combination with the favorable oceanographic 

 characteristics, makes the Barents Sea a region of permanent residence 

 or seasonal feeding of Arctic fauna (Arctic cod, saffron, cod, polar 

 plaice), Subarctic fauna (capelin) and Boreal fauna (cod, haddock, 

 saithe, herring, sea perch, common plaice, etc.). More warm-water fish 

 also find their way here: mackerel, whiting, etc. Representatives of 

 the Arctic fauna inhabit primarily the cold-water eastern regions of the 

 sea, while the Boreal species remain in the more warm-water western 

 sections. 



The cod, haddock, Arctic cod, sea perch, herring and capelin are of 

 predominant significance for fishing, making up as much as 95% of the 

 total catch. The catch of the USSR in 1968-1969 reached 0.6-10^ t, then 

 greatly decreased in subsequent years as a result of a significant 

 decrease in the population of herring from the Arctic and Sea of Norway, 

 cod, haddock and sea perch. At the same time a significant increase has 

 been observed in the population of Arctic cod and capelin, the total 

 catch of which by fishermen of all nations reached 2 million tons in 

 1970-1975. 



The northeast portion of the Atlantic Ocean also includes the Sea 

 of Norway and the Greenland Sea, the waters of Iceland, Ireland and the 

 Bay of Biscay, that portion of the Atlantic adjacent to the Iberian 

 Peninsula, as well as the open regions of the ocean. Here we find 

 herring, cod, haddock, sea perch, mackerel, poutassou, sardines, squids, 

 etc. Very intensive fishing of herring from the Arctic and Sea of 

 Norway, particularly the huge catch of small, immature fish by Norwegian 

 fishermen, the so called "fat" herring, has led to exhaustion of the 

 reserve of this once most numerous stock of ocean herring and 

 practically complete cessation of fishing within the limits of the Sea 

 of Norway. Only in recent years has some increase in the population of 

 herring in these waters been observed. 



384 



