We examined recruitment patterns of cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanog
rammus aeglefinus) from eight regions in the North Atlantic (Georges Bank,
Browns Bank, the Eastern Scotian Shelf, the Faroe Plateau, Iceland. the Bar
ents Sea. the North Sea, and West of Scotland). The selection was based on
the availability of contemporaneous estimates of stock and recruitment for
both species within each location. We considered the following metrics for
both species by region: recruitment variability (measured as absolute numbe
rs at age I and as deviations from a fitted stock recruitment curve), the r
ate of recruitment at low spawning stock sizes (the maximum reproductive ra
te. a measure of resilience of the stock to exploitation) and autocorrelati
on in recruitment adjusted for spawning stock size. We also examined the co
rrelation of cod and haddock recruitment within regions. Differences in rec
ruitment variability and resilience between cod and haddock in paired compa
rison tests were highly significant. Haddock consistently exhibited higher
recruitment variability and lower resilience than cod. Autocorrelation in r
ecruitment of the two species within region was related possibly indicating
serial correlation in forcing mechanisms affecting both species. Cod and h
addock exhibited moderate synchrony in recruitment patterns within regions.
In six out of the eight regions, the correlation between recruitment (adju
sted for spawning stock size) was similar to0.5. suggesting that common env
ironmental conditions experienced by both species did affect recruitment. R
esearch-vessel survey information available for three of the regions (North
Sea, Barents Sea, and Georges Bank) and one additional location (Gulf of M
aine) were analyzed for evidence of density dependence and for levels of po
st-larval abundance variability, Cod exhibited stronger density-dependent m
ortality in three out of four regions. Post-larval abundance variability wa
s not different between the two species.