Young cod larvae were found in the high-latitude ice area of northern Canada, updating our knowledge of this species in China.

Juvenile pollock fish were discovered in the high-latitude ice area of northern Canada, updating our knowledge of this species. In the high-latitude, dense ice area of northern Canada north of 86 degrees north latitude, during the 16th Arctic expedition of China, the "Xuelong 2" ship found and caught five fish in two artificially drilled ice holes. These fish were identified as juvenile pollock with an age of 1 to 2 years. The high-latitude ice area of northern Canada may become an important region for the population of pollock fish. Juvenile pollock mainly inhabit the sea ice in the Central Arctic Ocean, while adult pollock are distributed mainly in the near-bottom waters of the continental shelf. Pollock can adapt to water environments at temperatures as low as minus 2 degrees Celsius, thanks to a special antifreeze protein that prevents their bodies from freezing. There is sufficient food for juvenile pollock in the ice-water environment. To further confirm why juvenile pollock are so densely present in high-latitude ice areas, the expedition also conducted a vertical plankton trawl operation at the ice station. The results showed that the species of plankton in the ice-water area is rich and its vertical distribution is obvious. The density of plankton in the ice-covered area is significantly higher than that in the ice-covered surface area, indicating that juvenile pollock are densely present in high-latitude ice areas...