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The Barents-Kara Sea is one of the richest and most productive regions of the Arctic Ocean. The Barents-Kara Sea ecoregion is one of the northernmost bodies of water that does not freeze during the winter. But it's anything but desolate. Seabirds and marine mammals make their home on islands and coasts while the waters teem with fish.
Compared to neighboring arctic seas, the Barents-Kara is shallow and free of ice year round. Warm ocean currents from the North Atlantic and high salt levels help keep the water flowing. Large parts of the rocky coast are indented with many small bays and inlets and are covered in shrubs and moss. The diverse habitat of this ecoregion, especially in the Franz-Josef Land Nature Reserve--the largest protected marine area in the Northern Hemisphere, supports a diversity of wildlife.
During the summer, most of the land in the Barents-Kara Sea is blanketed by huge colonies of nesting seabirds. Barnacle and pink-footed geese migrate here every year, along with arctic terns, little auks, Sabine's gulls, and white-billed divers. Bearded seals, walruses, and narwhals breed and rest on the coasts but take to the sea to hunt. Fish such as Arctic cod, flatfish, and smelt are abundant here. The most familiar arctic mammal, perhaps, is the mighty polar bear, which hunts for seals on the frozen edge of the sea.
Overfishing and oil and gas development pose severe threats to the ecoregion. The dumping of radioactive materials has killed millions of fish, porpoises, sea stars, shellfish, and seals.
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