Distribution: Arctic and northern sub-Arctic waters of the North Atlantic, north of Newfoundland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway, and west of Bear Island-Spitsbergen. There are three whelping areas: Newfoundland (Gulf/Front), southern Davis Strait and Jan Mayen (/the "Western Ice").
Population and Catches: For the Northwest Atlantic (Newfoundland and Davis Strait), the poppulation estimate is 325,000. In 1997, the Canadian catch from this stock was 7,000, and about the same number are caught annually in greenland. No population estimate is available for the Central/East Atlantic stock. However, data are available on age-class distribution within the stock which provide certain indications about development trends. Counting surveys were carried out in the Western ice in 1997, but the results are not yet known. In recent decades, the hunt has been very limited compared with previous decades. In 1997, Norway took about 2,870 from this stock.