Polar sculpin (Cottunculus microps). Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute
During the 2018 Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey (BESS) 83 fish species from 28 families were recorded in pelagic and bottom trawl catches, some taxa were recorded at genus or family level only (Prokhorova et al 2019). All recorded species belonged to seven zoogeographic group (Widely Distributed, South Boreal, Boreal, Mainly Boreal, Arcto-Boreal, Mainly Arctic and Arctic) defined in Andriashev and Chernova (1994). In the following only bottom trawl catches of non-commercial fishes were used. Both demersal (including bentho-pelagic) and pelagic (neritopelagic, epipelagic, bathypelagic) species were included (Andriashev and Chernova, 1994, Parin, 1968, 1988).