Cod spawning in relation to physical and biological cycles of the northern North–west Atlantic

Abstract

ABSTRACT All the available, reliable cod ( Gadus morhua ) spawning data for the northern North–west Atlantic (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the Labrador and West and East Greenland Shelves) have been analysed to update older, often unpublished, reports of spawning dates. The derived spawning times are examined for latitudinal trends and it is shown that no consistent, general pattern exists. The spawning dates are compared with seasonal cycles of plankton abundance, ocean temperature, water column stability and oceanic transport. The latitudinal trends in spawning dates and timing of the plankton peak are found not to correspond.