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At its meeting during 5–19 June 1996, the Standing Committee on Publications (STACPUB) noted that the extensive scientific review of the Cod Stock in NAFO Div. 2J and 3KL conducted by the Scientific Council consisted of a group of papers suitable for a single publication of NAFO Scientific Council Studies. At its meeting during 7–13 September 1996, STACPUB invited J. Morgan, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Newfoundland, Canada, to undertake the coordination of the papers for this publication.

This issue of NAFO Scientific Council Studies was initiated by the Standing Committee on Publications (STACPUB) of the Scientific Council with the intent of publishing the detailed review on Flemish Cap oceanography as prepared by the Chairman (M. Stein) of the Standing Committee on Fisheries Environment (STACFEN). At its meetings, STACPUB agreed to publish this review in addition to the annual review papers on climatic conditions as well as other currently available reports related to the Flemish Cap from research documents presented to its meetings, under a single cover of the NAFO Scientific Council Studies. The 24 previous issues of NAFO Scientific Council Studies are listed on the inside back cover of this volume.

During 15–16 September 1994, the Scientific Council held a Symposium on 'Impact of Anomalous Oceanographic Conditions at the Beginning of the 1990s in the Northwest Atlantic on the Distribution and Behaviour of Marine Life', with M. Sinclair (Canada) and M. Stein (Republic of Germany) as co-conveners. Through ICNAF and NAFO times, the scientific community had expressed the interests and values of conducting decadal reviews of the environmental conditions in the northwest Atlantic. Two such publications were completed for the decades of the 1960s (ICNAF Special Publication, No. 8 – Symposium on Environmental Conditions in the Northwest Atlantic, 1960–69, Jul 1972, 254 p.), and the 1970s (NAFO Scientific Council Studies, No. 5 – Symposium papers on Environmental Conditions in the Northwest Atlantic, 1970–79 Dec 1982, 114 p.). The September 1994 Symposium addressed the environmental issues in recent years, particularly relating them to marine life.

At its meeting during 2–16 June 1993, the Scientific Council noted that a complete scientific review of results from the Northern Cod Science Program of Canada was scheduled for late-1994, and the coordinator of the Program, J. S. Campbell, should be invited to consider a NAFO publication for a collection of papers. The Council noted a group of papers dealing with Northern Cod presented at its June 1993 meeting appeared suitable for a single publication. At its meeting during 7–10 September 1993, the Council expressed its appreciation to J. S. Campbell for accepting this task, and the Secretariat undertook to complete the publication by the end of 1994.

During 4–6 September 1991, the Scientific Council held a Symposium on "Changes in Abundance and Biology of Cod Stocks and Their Possible Causes", with H. Hovgård (Denmark, in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland) as convener. At its meeting in September 1989, the Scientific Council initially agreed to host the 1991 Special Session on Atlantic Cod, and was pleased to welcome R. (Dick) Wells, the well-known Canadian expert on gadoid biology and fishery management science, to convene a Symposium. With the sad, untimely death of Dick Wells in December 1989, the Council was pleased Hovgård agreed to convene the session, and new ideas on the theme and specific topics were considered. The Council decided to dedicate the Symposium in memory of Dick Wells.

Interest in the contributions to the Symposium resulted in the Scientific Council recommendation that papers presented should be published in full or as extended abstracts in a special issue of, with H. Hovgård and T. Amaratunga undertaking the editorial review of the papers.

During 5-7 September 1990, the Scientific Council held a Special Session on "Management Under Uncertainties Related to Biology and Assessments, with Case Studies on Some North Atlantic Fisheries" at the Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with J. Shepherd (EEC-UK) as convener. Keen interest in the contributions and associated discussions prompted the Scientific Council to consider publishing all contributions in a single volume of NAFO Scientific Council Studies. Of the 22 presentations made at the Session, 16 papers and 5 extended abstracts were accepted for publication in this issue of Studies after review by the convener and the editor. The contributions are printed in the order they were presented at the Session.