Members of a Greenpeace Russia delegation met with Leidulv Atle Namtvedt, the Norwegian ambassador to Russia, and presented him with a letter on the need to stop fishing in the northern Barents Sea, the organization's official website reports.

This sector, which was previously covered with ice most of the year, is now open to predatory commercial fishing due to climate change. In all, 140,000 people have signed a petition to protect this area.

A Greenpeace investigation on the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea showed that many fishing vessels affiliated with worldwide famous companies had been entering areas previously covered by sea ice for three years, through September 2015. Bottom trawling, used in the northern sector of the Barents Sea, may be damaging this vulnerable ecosystem, Greenpeace experts say.

Bottom trawling ranks among the most destructive fishing methods. These ice covered Arctic territories are the last regions that have not been affected by it, and they should be promptly protected, said oceanographer and marine conservation biologist Callum Roberts who is familiar with the report.