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Abstract:
The Nansen Legacy Polar Cod Connectivity cruise aimed at unravelling polar cod and capelin population connectivity and relation to the physical and chemical environment in Svalbard’s fjords. The main focus areas were Isfjorden, Kongsfjorden, Storfjorden and the South-East of Svalbard. A total of 36 stations were visited to collect of information on polar cod and capelin vertical and horizontal distribution (using echosounder, pelagic and bottom trawls), their population, life cycle and size structure (observation of maturity, otoliths reading and genetic sampling), as well as their diet (stomachs content, sampling of benthic/planktonic prey). Other studies were conducted in link with the objectives of the research foci RF2 The Human Impacts and RF3 The Living Barents Sea. The cruise was also an opportunity to visit well-known monitoring stations to complete already long time series and investigate seasonal variability.