New Iron Curtain Eroding Norway's Hard-Won Ties With Russia On Arctic

"Capt. Pal Bratbak has patrolled the Barents Sea for decades. His Norwegian coast guard search and rescue cutter mostly chases after distress calls from fishermen. The fishermen are chasing the cod — and the cod sometimes lead them astray.

"The codfish, they don't see the border, so we help every boat in our area," he says, and that means as many Russian boats as Norwegian. A treaty allows both nations to catch a quota, and that management of the Barents Sea Arctic cod fleet is considered a success worldwide, both economically and environmentally.

"That's important for Norway and the European Union and NATO and the whole world. And it's important for the Russians," he says."

Quil Lawrence and Connor Donevan report for NPR April 30, 2022.