The Enigma of Georges Bank Spawning

The drift of bottles and transponding drift buoys over the Georges Bank area show that, with the exception of midsummer when the Georges eddy is most pronounced and southerly winds predominate, surface drift is offshore in the direction of the slope water band. Indications are that the currents below the surface move at a slower rate than at the surface, but in a similar direction. The effects of offshore drift, time and location of spawning, vertical distribution of eggs and larvae, and length of pelagic life on the dispersal and survival of eggs, larvae, and juveniles of commercially important foodfishes are discussed. It appears from observations on haddock and herring that under average conditions most fish eggs and larvae are carried away from Georges Bank and lost to the fishery, that only under unusual hydrographic conditions are the eggs and larvae retained in the area, and that the year class strength of the various species inhabiting Georges Bank is dependent in part upon non‐tidal drift.