Fauna of the Bering Sea

A marginal sea in the North Pacific Ocean, separated from it by the Aleutian and Commander Islands. It is connected to the Chukchi Sea and the Arctic Ocean by the Bering Strait. It separates Eurasia from the Americas.

The distribution of hydrobionts in the sea depends directly on the topography of the seabed. In the Bering Sea there are 402 species of fish from 65 families, including 9 species of Gobiidae, 7 species of Salmonidae, 5 species of Zoarcidae, 4 species of Pleuronectidae and others. Of these, 50 species and 14 families are commercial fish. There are also 4 species of crabs, 4 species of shrimps, 2 species of cephalopods.

Mammals of the Bering Sea

The main marine mammals of the Bering Sea are Pinnipeds: ringed seal, harbour seal, bearded seal, ribbon seal and Pacific walrus. Cetaceans include narwhal, grey whale, bowhead whale, humpback whale, fin whale, North Pacific right whale, sei whale and northern blue whale.

A popular Bering Sea fish

The aquatic world of the Bering Sea is represented by valuable commercial species such as Clupeidae and Gadidae (Alaska pollock, saffron cod, giant grenadier). Pleuronectidae are abundant: starry flounder, American plaice, Bering flounder, yellowfin sole, longhead dab, halibut. Salmonidae: pink salmon, chum salmon, chinook salmon and sockeye salmon.

Sharks in the Berengus Sea

The sea is mainly inhabited by species that are not dangerous to humans: Greenland shark and spiny dogfish. The frilled shark, the goblin shark and the bluntnose sixgill shark can also be seen. Among the dangerous predators, the salmon shark can be singled out, but no cases of its aggression towards humans have been recorded in this sea.

Bering Sea zooplankton

Plankton biomass (annual average) in the Bering Sea epipelagic Copepoda is 55.1%, Chaetognatha - 26.3%, Euphausiacea - 10.8%, jellyfish - 3.2%, Hyperiidea - 2.9%.

Crustaceans of the Bering Sea

Red king crab and shrimp are harvested here in large quantities.

Jellyfish in the Bering Sea

The densest assemblages of Scyphozoa are concentrated in the shelf areas of the northern part of the Bering Sea. Species of the genus Chrysaora and Cyanea capillata dominate. High concentrations of Hydromedusa are found in the deep waters of the western part of the Bering Sea, where jellyfish of the genus Aequorea dominate.