Half a century of decadal symposia by NAFO and ICES

Published in ICES Journal of Marine Science.

During the establishment of ICES, it was stated “that in all researches, whether hydrographical or biological … it be recognized as a primary object to estimate the quantity of fish available for the use of man, to record the variations in its amount from place to place and from time to time, to ascribe natural variations to their natural causes, and to determine whether or how far variations in the available stock are caused by the operation of man.” ICES addressed these obligations, among others, by publishing annual volumes of Annales Biologiques, a series terminated in 1987, and in 1988 replaced by symposia on decadal variability of hydrobiological conditions. A corresponding series was started by ICNAF (later NAFO) in 1964. A brief summary of these events is presented and a comparison made of the two series.