First Norwegian Snow Crab Mapping
From the left; marine researcher Jan H. Sundet, skipper Kjell Endresen and expedition manager and researcher Ann Merete Hjelset, who are currently on an expedition to map the prevalence of snow crab in the Barents Sea. (Photo: Courtesy of the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research/Gunnar Sætra)
The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research is currently conducting the first mapping of snow crab in the fisheries protection zone near Svalbard.
The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research is currently conducting the first mapping of snow crab in the fisheries protection zone near Svalbard.
- This is the first Norwegian expedition aiming only to map the occurrences of snow crab, says expedition manager and researcher Ann Merete Hjelset from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.
The expedition takes place in the southeastern areas of the fish protection zone near Svalbard.
While snow crab fishers voyage to areas with significant amounts of snow crab, the research expedition aims at the areas on the edge of known occurrences, trying to find out how far west and north it has reached.
The first snow crab observation in the Barents Sea dates back to 1996.
The snow crab has spread out since it was first observed in the Barents Sea in 1996.
(Map: Courtesy of Havforskningsinstituttet / Pinro)