MONTREAL: The populations of Arctic marine mammals and fish are rising, a report by the Arctic Council's biodiversity working group at a Montreal conference says.

Fish populations have risen dramatically, the findings of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program, the Zoological Society of London, and the World Wildlife Fund show.

Recovering ... but rising populations of some animals, including walruses, have not returned to historical levels. Credit:Reuters

The three organisations collaborated on the analysis, looking at 890 populations of 323 species of Arctic vertebrates.

They said in a statement on Monday that the Arctic wildlife population changes are linked to ''Arctic climate oscillations and changes in commercial harvest'' in neighbouring waters.