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Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.

Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.
Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.
Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.
Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.
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75394
Linder, Christopher
Long open water wake off the aft end of Oden.
Still Image
08/13/2007
graphics/agave2/cl_20070806_agave07_wake_001.jpg
After weeks of seeing one to two stray birds, and many days not seeing any at all, we have attracted flocks of them. Oden's powerful propellers leave a long wake and perhaps stir up small baitfish to the surface. Or maybe the birds have gotten used to handouts from fishing vessels that work these waters? The Barents Sea is highly productive compared to other oceans at similar latitude, because it receives nutrients from the North Atlantic Current. Blooms of phytoplankton can start quite early in the spring, soon after sunlight returns, and right near the edge of the ice packs. The phytoplankton (marine plants) feed small zooplankton (tiny marine animals), which in turn feed young cod, capelin (a small fish resembling a smelt), polar cod, seals, whales, and seabirds. Barents Sea fisheries, particularly cod, are of great importance for both Norway and Russia.
Photo by Chris Linder
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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