<p>For fish with adherent eggs, the spawning site becomes the egg incubation site. Therefore, habitat characteristics determine the conditions offspring experience in early life. Capelin is a key forage fish that undergoes natural boom and bust population cycles and, although stock collapses and recovery occur throughout its circumpolar range, the Newfoundland and Labrador stock has experienced minimal recovery following a collapse in 1991. In coastal Newfoundland, capelin select both intertidal and subtidal spawning sites based on suitable substrate and optimal temperatures. Warming ocean temperatures are predicted to shift spawning from warmer intertidal sites to cooler subtidal sites with unknown population-level consequences. We aimed to examine the long-term variation (2004–2023) in spawning habitat use in two Newfoundland bays (Trinity, Notre Dame) and investigate the influence of factors (temperature, spawning timing, biomass, proportion of age-2 female fish maturing) on spawning habitat use. In Trinity Bay, monitored spawning sites were used every year, likely because both habitats were consistently within optimal temperatures ranges. In Notre Dame Bay, spawning habitat use was variable. Intertidal site use was proportionally lower at higher temperatures, while subtidal site use was proportionally lower when spawning was delayed. Selection may favour earlier spawning at cooler subtidal sites to allow earlier hatching and larvae more time to grow prior to overwintering to maximize survival. More research is required on the population-level consequences of these habitat shifts to determine whether they are related to the lack of stock recovery and to predict their impact on recruitment dynamics under future climate change.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>