SALINITY AND RECRUITMENT OF ATLANTIC COD (GADUS-MORHUA) IN THE NEWFOUNDLAND REGION

Recruitment predictions for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the North Atlantic, based upon a previously published regression with salinity, are found to be well correlated with recent recruitment estimates from both virtual population analysis and those derived from research surveys. The addition of spawning stock biomass in the regression significantly increased the percentage of the variance accounted for in the recruitment time series. A similar relationship between recruitment and salinity was found for two nearby stocks (southern Grand Banks and St. Pierre Bank). Oceanographic and food chain mechanisms that might be responsible for a link between salinity and recruitment are discussed.