Ecological changes on the Faroe shelf have previously been discussed in relation to primary production on this shelf. While these earlier studies provided foundational insights into the ecosystem's dynamics, their explanation model primarily explains the marked production peaks, which recur in this system every 6–10 years. Inclusion of oceanic food abundance, represented by the volume of subarctic water masses around the Faroe plateau, in this ecological assessment enables us to explain longer-term trends, which also characterize this ecosystem. This expanded approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem's complex temporal dynamics.