The Case of the Missing Newfoundland Capelin

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) served as a model species for research into the early life history of marine fish species by many of Bill Leggett’s Ph.D. and post-doctoral fellows, primarily at McGill University.  I was no exception and soon discovered the many advantages of studying a species of both great ecological and economic importance whose beach spawning life style in Newfoundland waters provided a ready source of material for exacting field and experimental studies.  Capelin continue to be an active focus of research worldwide and outside of Newfoundland support commercial fisheries with annual yields that frequently exceed 1Mt. Exploitation of Newfoundland capelin is far more modest with the primary target being roe-bearing females for export abroad.  Following the early 1990s collapse of cod, one of the dominant capelin predators, biomass estimates of adult of capelin have been highly uncertain and exceedingly low – this had led many researchers to claim that the Newfoundland capelin stock collapsed. Curiously, the ecological side-effects of such a collapse appear to be minimal whereas documented capelin collapses in other regions (e.g. Barents Sea) resulted in profound ecosystem wide effects. The causes for the differential response of the capelin collapse in the Newfoundland region will be examined.