Fifty years of Norwegian-Russian collaboration in marine research
At the beginning of the fifth year of high-quality publishing in Marine Biology Research we present the second thematic issue devoted to a long-term collaboration of two leading marine research institutions in Norway and Russia. Before this issue is introduced, the Editors would like to announce a few changes that have taken place recently on our editorial board. Three new subject editors have joined us: Haakon Hop in Food webs and Trophic interactions, Ketil Hylland in Environmental research, and Keiichi Sato in Elasmobranch biology and Captive propagation. Elen Hals has joined us as technical editor. Welcome to all of them! Birgitta Bergman has left us as subject editor and Penny Lee Liebig and Margaret Mary McBride left us as editorial coordinators, thanks to all of them for a very productive period!
2007 marked the 50-year anniversary for a formal and active cooperation between Norway and Russia in marine research. To commemorate this long period of collaboration, the Institute of Marine Research (IMR; www.imr.no) in Bergen and the Polar Institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography (PINRO; www.pinro.ru) in Murmansk arranged a symposium in Tromsø from 21–22 August 2007. These two institutions have always been in the forefront of the cooperation, but other institutions from both countries have also participated.
The background for the collaboration was the development of the stocks of Northeast Arctic cod and Norwegian spring-spawning herring in the 1950s. Both countries were members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) giving advice for the management of fish stocks in the North Atlantic, but felt the need for a closer cooperation. At that time ICES did not give advice on the total quantities that could be harvested from the stocks, since those types of regulations were not regarded to be necessary. Both the Norwegian and the Barents Seas were open for any and all to exploit the stocks found there. Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) were still a matter for the future.
Meanwhile, the problems with an unregulated fishery started to emerge, and the harvest was declining. For the Northeast arctic cod, the marine scientist's data on the age distribution in the stock indicated that the decline of catches was caused by overfishing, not merely natural fluctuations in stock size. For the Atlanto-Scandian herring stock, the point at issue was the Norwegian coastal fishery for immature herring. Soviet scientists argued that this harvesting was the main reason for the dwindling herring catches in the Norwegian Sea during the late 1950s. From the Norwegian side this was denied, since the strong year classes of herring had their main nursery area far from the coast, where the fishery on small herring took place. The dissension was partly caused by disagreement on which year classes to include in the analysis and which methods to apply. In any case, it was difficult to come to a mutual understanding, but both sides recognised the need for a closer scientific collaboration outside the ICES, to be able to come closer to a joint comprehension of the reasons for the observed changes in the large fish stocks that meant so much to both countries. Concerted action was called for, and thus the concern for the major commercial stocks was an important element for the commencement of the close collaboration between IMR and PINRO.
Since then, the collaboration has been both widened and deepened, one field being coordinated joint cruises. In 1965 an international 0-group survey was initiated, and these soon became a joint Soviet-Norwegian task. Today, these investigations of young-of-the-year fish still go on, but are now an integrated part of multiship and multipurpose surveys termed ‘ecosystem surveys’ (Figure). Thus, these investigations to map the strength and distribution of the year classes of the most important fish species in the Barents Sea, represents the longest unbroken time series within the framework of the ICES. This series of surveys give information on the recruitment mechanisms in the Barents Sea, and makes up an important basis for the prognoses of fish stocks. As the time passed, annual meetings between IMR and PINRO scientists were established, where biological, physical and technological issues were discussed.
An increasingly important factor in the cooperation was the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This international process gave rise to the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) that were introduced in the late 1970s. As a result of this, the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission (JNRFC) was established, and this Commission has become an important supplier of premises for the scientific collaboration. In this context, the need for a scientific agreement about the issues dealt with in the JNRFC was at the core of the collaboration, in particular in the fields of stock development and quota recommendations. In the absence of an agreement between Russian and Norwegian scientists, it is difficult for the NRFC to reach effective decisions.
The work of the JNRFC has gradually changed over time. Norwegian and Russian marine scientists now work jointly on the development of long-term harvesting strategies, harvest control rules, and ecosystem based management, not only on producing numbers for next year's quota allocations. In the future, the collaboration in the framework of the Norwegian-Russian Environmental Commission will probably also feature this scientific collaboration.
The RV Johan Hjort (IMR, see also www.imr.no) in the harbour of Kirkenes, Norway, September 2006, during an ecosystem survey in the Barents Sea. Photographer: D. Shale (www.deepseaimages.co.uk).
A key element in the collaboration is and has been the annual meeting of scientists, the so-called March-meetings, since they are normally held in March. This started out as meetings held at PINRO, and only scientists from PINRO and IMR participated. The first meeting was held in 1957, and for more than thirty years, PINRO hosted these meetings. Later, the meetings alternated between Russia and Norway. Gradually scientists from other collaborating institutions in both countries were invited to the meetings. Usually 10–20 people from each side meet to sum up the last year's cooperation and to make plans for the next year. Central to these meetings are issues put on the agenda by JNRFC. Another key element is the joint surveys, of which the ecosystem survey in autumn is the most prominent, involving 5–6 vessels over a period of 1.5 months. It includes the 0-group investigations mentioned above, a capelin survey (that was started in 1971 and was conducted jointly with PINRO from 1979), a bottom fish survey, a shrimp survey, physical and biological oceanographic investigations, and mapping of benthos, sea mammals and sea birds. After these surveys, the participants meet to produce a report that is so comprehensive that two volumes are issued annually.
The scientific collaboration is not limited to field-work. Quality assurance of age determination of fish is, for instance, an important part of the cooperation. Otoliths used for age determination of fish are exchanged between IMR and PINRO on a regular basis, and annual (or bi-annual, dependent on species) workshops are arranged where age readings are compared and difficult otoliths discussed. Starting in 1983, Norwegian-Russian symposia have been organised, where special themes are discussed more thoroughly. These symposia are arranged at intervals of 1–3 years, and scientists from other institutions, as well as fishermen and managers are invited to these, dependent on which topic is the theme for the symposium. In recent years, ad hoc workshops on methodological issues have also been arranged, primarily on survey methodology.
Although Norwegian and Russian scientists are responsible for the majority of data acquisition in the northern oceans, the working up of this large material takes place within the framework of the ICES. The fish stocks in the Barents Sea are primarily dealt with in the Arctic Fisheries Working Group, where scientists from Norway, Russia, and several other countries take part. In the Working Group the basis is worked out for a common understanding of models and data, and the ICES Advisory Committee for Fishery Management (ACFM) therefore acts as an international quality control of the work. ICES is, consequently, a cornerstone in the Norwegian-Russian scientific collaboration.
Norway and Russia have traditionally looked to the fisheries as the source of wealth and employment from the Barents Sea. However we now can see oil and gas exploration, tourism, shipping and bioprospecting as important economic activities in this area. Developing integrated management plans for the Barents Sea area will be an important task, and the 50-year-old Norwegian-Russian research cooperation will form a solid framework for the building of the knowledge base for this work.
During the anniversary symposium in August 2007 scientists from the two countries attempted to sum up some of the major results and knowledge gained during the 50 years of collaboration between IMR and PINRO. The outcome is documented here in eight publications. We thank in particular the subject editors Geir Ottersen and Aril Slotte who assisted in the reviewing process and all the referees who provided their valuable comments thus making this thematic issue possible.