Broad-scale egg samples for both cod and haddock have been processed to consider possible maternal influence on egg viability, assuming increased egg size may reflect better condition and overall viability. No indication was found that interannual variation in egg calculated mortality rates was related to variation in egg size. The eggs were also staged and seasonal egg mortality rates for both species were calculated for each year of sampling.  The mortality rates varied by a factor of two over the duration of the program.  Comparisons with time series of the local wind stress suggest that the variability in egg mortality was caused by variations in wind-driven off-bank transport during the periods of peak egg abundance.  A particle tracking model, using both the observed winds and the observed egg distributions, indicates a seasonal loss of eggs consistent with the calculated egg mortality rates.  Both the interannual variability in the winds and in the egg distributions appear important in determining the interannual variability in the egg mortality rates.

Integration and Synthesis of Georges Bank Broad-scale
Survey Results.