Interannual variability in temperature and the recruitment of Irish sea cod

Abstract

A short review shows that in cold, arctic regions of the North Atlantic positive relationships are generally observed between cod recruitment and water temperatures whilst negative relationships are observed in warm-temperate regions. According to this relationship, cod recruitment in the Irish Sea should be negatively related to sea temperature. Using 3 independent sources of long-term temperature records we test this hypothesis and show a highly significant connection between the recruitment of cod and temperature signals. We suggest that this relationship should be taken into account, in addition to spawning stock biomass, in any future attempt at understanding cod recruitment in this area.