The effect of wind on water transport in the region of the Bear Island fishery

Abstract

Abstract A correlation has been established between the volume transport of the West Spitsbergen Current when west of Bear Island and the strength of the southerly wind component during the preceding period. The mechanism underlying this correlation has been examined and it is suggested that fluctuations in the position of the Arctic Front cause changes in the strength of the current system of the Norwegian Sea. It is shown that there would be a residual north-going current if there was no southerly wind component and it is suggested that the flow of water from the Atlantic through the Faeroe-Shetland Channel is its most likely source. An association between the southerly wind component and the year-class strength of the Bear Island cod is also shown, the connecting link being the strength of the West Spitsbergen Current in which larvae are transported from the Lofoten spawning grounds to the Bear Island nursery grounds.