Outcome of an inshore spawning event by northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) at a low stock level

A large spawning aggregation of northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was di scovered in a fjord of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, in April 1995, 3 years af ter the collapse of this stock and 1 year after the last offshore spawning aggregation was recorded. We hypothesized that spawning by this aggregation would increase the abundance/density of eggs and settled 0-group juveniles above the level of spawning in the bay during recent years. Data from 1995 were compared with ichthyoplankton and postsettlement juvenile surveys con ducted in recent years. Egg density was significantly higher in 1995 than t he pooled average of two recent years (1991 and 1993). The hypothesized inc rease in numbers of postsettlement age 0 fish was tested at three different spatial scales: the entire northeast coast of Newfoundland, individual bay s, and areas within Trinity Bay. There was no detectable increase in catche s of settled age 0 juveniles at any spatial scale. Consequently, while this large spawning aggregation produced locally high egg concentrations, it di d not lead to a detectable increase in abundance of newly settled age 0 juv eniles in coastal nursery areas. This study did not provide any direct evid ence for an increase in recruitment in the inshore region due to the spawni ng output of locally abundant spawners in Trinity Bay.