Capelin

Capelin is the largest fish stock in the Icelandic marine ecosystem.

Fisheries and aquaculture in the Central North Atlantic (Iceland and Greenland) 2009

Capelin reside mainly on the Atlantic side of the Polar Front during winter, but feed on the zooplankton production in the large ice-free areas north of the Polar Front in summer and autumn.

Fisheries and aquaculture in the Northeast Atlantic (Barents and Norwegian Seas) 2009

Capelin (Mallotus villosus), which spawns in large numbers on rocky beaches, is a particularly important coastal fish used locally in Canada and Greenland for human and sled dog food.

Indigenous peoples, animals, and climate in the Arctic 2009

Capelin are especially important in the diet of small and medium-sized cod [19].

Fisheries and aquaculture in the Central North Atlantic (Iceland and Greenland) 2009

Capelin have been found in much reduced quantities in offshore acoustic surveys since the early 1990s, but indices of capelin abundance in the inshore surveys have not shown similar declines, leaving the status of capelin uncertain and controversial [18].

Fisheries and aquaculture in the Newfoundland and Labrador Seas, Northeastern Canada 2009

Capelin, Greenland cod, Greenland halibut (became much less common)

Past variability in Arctic marine systems 2009

Capelin off Newfoundland and Labrador spread southward as far as the Bay of Fundy when water temperatures declined south of Newfoundland in the mid-1960s and retracted northward as water temperatures rose in the 1970s [49].

Past variability in Arctic marine systems 2009

Capelin is very likely to extend its feeding area north and northeastward.

Future change in processes and impacts on Arctic biota 2009

Capelin exhibits an expanded range in years with a larger cold pool and contracts in years of reduced sea-ice cover.

Past variability in Arctic marine systems 2009

Capelin and herring as key species for the yield of north-east Arctic cod.

Fisheries and aquaculture in the Northeast Atlantic (Barents and Norwegian Seas) 2009