John Cabot, n.d.
John Cabot in the Matthew off Cape Bonavista in 1497.

Painting by C. Dinsmore.
From J. R. Smallwood, ed., The Book of Newfoundland, Vol. 2 (St. John's: Newfoundland Book Publishers, 1937). 

Noting that Denmark (in respect of Greenland) with the concurrence of Canada  had requested advice on harp and hooded seals, the Scientific Council called a meeting of the Joint ICES/NAFO Working Group on Harp and Hooded seals. This Group met at the Keddy's Dartmouth Inn, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, during 5–9 June 1995, in conjunction with the Scientific Council meetings of 7–21 June 1995. The Group considered the assessment of the stocks and catch options, as reported in Scientific Council Reports, 1995, pages 43–48.

Noting that most of the research documents presented at the Working Group meeting were quite extensive and together presented an excellent summary of current knowledge of the status of the harp and hooded seals, the Council agreed that it would be extremely useful to compile these documents into a single issue of the NAFO Scientific Council Studies. Upon the approval of members of the Working Group, authors were requested to submit their revised papers for a special issue of the Council Studies.

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.

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.

At the Annual Meeting of the Scientific Council of NAFO in September 1980, it was agreed that a review of environmental conditions in the northwest Atlantic during the 1970-79 decade was desirable. Consequently, a symposium was held at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 15-16 September 1981, during which 15 contributions were discussed (NAFO Scientific Council Reports for 1981). Several of the papers were solicited by the convener to ensure that the major aspects of environmental conditions were covered. Twelve of the contributions are included in this volume.