M. J. Morgan, J. Burnett, J. Tomkiewicz, F. Saborido-Rey

The Scientific Council Special Session, the Symposium on Variations in Maturation, Growth, Condition and Spawning Biomass Production in Groundfish held at the Altis Hotel in Lisbon Portugal during 9--11 September 1998 in conjunction with the 20th NAFO Annual Meeting, resulted with the Scientific Council establishing the Working Group on Reproductive Potential. The Working Group (Chair E. Trippel) through its deliberations concerning fish stocks in the North Atlantic recommended to the Scientific Council that

i) a complete collection of scientific papers relating to the subject be peer reviewed and considered for publication in the Journal a/Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science,

and

ii) a compilation of available data for those stocks be published in the Scientific Council Studies.

The Scientific Council endorsed the recommendation, and this issue of the Scientific Council Studies series is dedicated to the compilation regarding the available data. Many members of the Working Group and scientists both within the Scientific Council circles and outside these circles have spent a great deal of time and effort collecting, collating and refining the information base. The comprehensive coverage achieved in this publication is timely and important for scientists dealing with fish stocks and stock complexes in the North Atlantic, particularly in the NAFO and ICES areas.