Report of the Workshop on Ocean Climate of the NW Atlantic During the 1960s abd 1970s and Consequences for Gadoid Populations

The Third ICES/GLOBEC Backward-Facing Workshop

[WKBFAC] will:

a) analyse the 1960s and the 1970s ocean climate in the Georges Bank, Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine and

b) determine the conditions that may have contributed to the formation of outstanding gadoid year-classes during the 1960s and 1970s (e.g., 1966, 1971 and 1975 for cod; 1963, 1975 and 1978 for haddock on Georges Bank) including:

i differences in 3-D circulation fields of “cold” and “warm” years

ii effect of temperature differences on the distribution of predators

iii effect of temperature on larval growth rates

iv temporal and spatial distribution and abundance of eggs, larvae, juveniles and spawners.

c) compare the processes which appear to govern interannual variability in gadoid recruitment on Georges Bank and in other areas of the North Atlantic.