Compliance and Postagreement Bargaining in the Barents Sea Fisheries

States’ failure to comply with their international obligations has been viewed by institutional theory as problems to be solved, rather than as wrongs to be punished. This article reviews how Norway has employed different postagreement bargaining strategies in the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission in order to enhance Russian compliance with the bilateral fisheries agreements in the Barents Sea and with the precautionary approach more widely.     

Enforcement Co-operation between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea Fisheries

This article measures the Indonesian legal framework governing fishing vessel registration and fishing vessel licensing against the relevant international fisheries instruments. It is argued that the current Indonesian regulatory framework for vessel registration and licensing is not adequate to implement Indonesia's obligations under international fisheries instruments to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing.     

Maritime Delimitation in the Arctic: The Barents Sea Treaty

During a visit to Norway by the Russian president in the spring of 2010, the president and the Norwegian prime minister surprisingly announced agreement on a delimitation line in the Barents Sea ending almost 40 years of negotiations. The agreement was signed in Murmansk on 15 September 2010. This article presents the background of the dispute and undertakes an assessment of the agreement and its implications for the Barents Sea, Svalbard, and other Arctic maritime delimitations.     

The Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries at Risk from Overexploitation

The status of the Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries was evaluated for the period 1970-2010 on a subarea basis, using various indicators including the temporal variability of total landings, the number of recorded stocks, the mean trophic level of the catch, the fishing-in-balance index and the catch-based method of stock classification. All indicators confirmed that the fisheries resources of the Mediterranean and Black Sea are at risk from overexploitation. The pattern of exploitation and the state of stocks differed among the western (W), central (C) and eastern (E) Mediterranean subareas and the Black Sea (BS), with the E Mediterranean and BS fisheries being in a worst shape. Indeed, in the E Mediterranean and the BS, total landings, mean trophic level of the catch and fishing-in-balance index were declining, the cumulative percentage of overexploited and collapsed stocks was higher, and the percentage of developing stocks was lower, compared to the W and C Mediterranean. Our results confirm the need for detailed and extensive stock assessments across species that will eventually lead to stocks recovering through conservation and management measures.     

Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Proteins from Crustaceans of the Barents Sea

Enzymatic preparations from king crab hepatopancreas were shown to be capable, in principle, of producing protein hydrolysates. Hydrolysis of protein-containing waste of deep-water prawn and king crab occurs most successfully at pH 8.0–8.5 and 50–55°C for 5–6 h in the presence of 6 g enzyme per kg substrate. The total chemical composition of the hydrolysates, the molecular weight distributions of proteins and polypeptides, and the contents of free amino acids were studied in dry hydrolysates.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins from crustaceans of the Barents Sea

Enzymatic preparations from king crab hepatopancreas were shown to be capable, in principle, of producing protein hydrolysates. Hydrolysis of protein-containing waste of deep-water prawn and king crab occurs most successfully at pH 8.0-8.5 and 50-55 degrees C for 5-6 h in the presence of 6 g enzyme per kg substrate. The total chemical composition of the hydrolysates, the molecular weight distributions of proteins and polypeptides, and the contents of free amino acids were studied in dry hydrolysates.     

Microbiological analysis of cryopegs from the Varandei Peninsula, Barents Sea

The paper deals with the microbiological characterization of water-saturated horizons in permafrost soils (cryopegs) found on the Varandei Peninsula (Barents Sea coast), 4-20 m deep. The total quantity of bacteria in the water of cryopegs was 3.5 x 10(8) cells/ml. The population of cultivated aerobic heterotrophic bacteria was 3-4 x 10(7) cells/ml and the number of anaerobic heterotrophic bacteria varied from 10(2) to 10(5) cells/ml depending on cultivation temperature and salinity. Sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea were found as hundreds and tens of cells per ml of water, respectively. A pure culture of a sulfate-reducing strain B15 was isolated from borehole 21 and characterized. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the new bacterium is a member of the genus Desulfovibrio with Desulfovibrio mexicanus as its closest relative (96.5% similarity). However, the significant phenotypic differences suggest that strain B15 is a new species of sulfate-reducing bacteria.     

Microbiological analysis of cryopegs from the Varandei Peninsula,Barents Sea

The paper deals with the microbiological characterization of water-saturated horizons in permafrost soils (cryopegs) found on the Varandei Peninsula (Barents Sea coast), 4–20 m deep. The total quantity of bacteria in the water of cryopegs was 3.5 × 10⁸ cells/ml. The population of cultivated aerobic heterotrophic bacteria was 3–4 × 10⁷ cells/ml and the number of anaerobic heterotrophic bacteria varied from 10² to 10⁵ cells/ml depending on cultivation temperature and salinity. Sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea were found as hundreds and tens of cells per ml of water, respectively. A pure culture of a sulfate-reducing strain B15 was isolated from borehole 21 and characterized. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the new bacterium is a member of the genus Desulfovibrio with Desulfovibrio mexicanus as its closest relative (96.5% similarity). However, the significant phenotypic differences suggest that strain B15 is a new species of sulfate-reducing bacteria.     

Checklist of fauna found in zooplankton samples from the Barents Sea

We present a list of zooplankton taxa occurring in the Barents Sea based on our analysis of 360 samples from the upper 100 m of the water column as well as on reports from published sources. Moreover, we provide information on adult size, ecological and geographical distribution, habitat preference and frequency of occurrence of each taxon. The list encompasses a total of 374 species and higher taxa. Most are mesozooplankton, with Copepoda prevailing (153 species), and belong to the holoplankton. However, pseudoplankton, organisms only circumstantially occurring in the water column, also comprise a significant part of the fauna (86 taxa). The coastal zooplankton (264 neritic species) was richer than the fauna of the open sea. In our samples, the majority of the zooplankton taxa were rarely found (94 of 157 taxa, equivalent of 60%), 46 taxa (29%) were moderate and only 17 taxa (11%) were common (found in >80% of the samples). Among these, the copepods Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis, Oithona similis and Pseudocalanus minutus were most frequent.     

The rotifer fauna of arctic sea ice from the Barents Sea,Laptev Sea [2pt] and Greenland Sea

Hydrobiologia - Samples from arctic sea ice were studied for their rotifer fauna. Ice core samples were collected in the northern Barents Sea and the Laptev Sea from August to October 1993 and in...     

The Structure of Job Satisfaction Among New England Fishermen and Its Application to Fisheries Management Policy

This article examines the structure of job satisfaction among New England fishermen using three different measures. The various measures of job satisfaction were found to be complexly related to other sociocultural variables such as age, education, years of fishing experience, type of fishing, ethnicity, and home port. The policy implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to fishery development and management.     

Hemolymph molting hormone concentrations in red king crabs from the Barents Sea

Recent declines in red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) stocks in its native and introduced habitat have sparked interest in the development of aquaculture methods for this commercially important species. Little is known about the basic biology of this species and the factors controlling its growth rate. In this paper we present concentrations of circulating ecdysteroids (the hormones that control molting) in hemolymph of intermolt red king crabs in three coastal areas of the Barents Sea. Two molting hormones (20-hydroxyecdysone and ecdysone) were assayed. Mean levels of these ecdysteroids varied from 0.0 to 190.0 μg ml⁻¹ and from 0.0 to 13.4 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. These levels in general were higher in comparison with other decapod species. Concentrations of ecdysteroids were similar in male and female crabs and in injured (animals with at least one autotomized limb) and intact red king crabs. In contrast, the levels of circulating ecdysteroids were much higher in small (predominantly immature crabs) than in large adult animals because the latter have a lower molting probability (once per year) than smaller crabs (2–3 times per year). Our data can be used in further investigations of red king crab growth rates and their application to the development of aquaculture methods for this species.