A real-time shelf circulation model with data assimilation has been successfully used, possibly for the first time, on the outer Nova Scotian Shelf. The adjoint method was used to infer the time histories of flows across the four open boundaries of a 60 km¿60 km shallow-water equation model of Western Bank. The aim was to hindcast and nowcast currents over the bank so that a patch of water (initially 15 km in diameter) could be resampled over a 3-week period as part of a study of the early life history of Atlantic cod. Observations available in near real time for assimilation were from 14 drifting buoys, 2 telemetering moored current meters, the ship's acoustic Doppler current profiler and the local wind. For the postcruise hindcasts presented here, data from two bottom pressure gauges and two more current meters are also available. The experiment was successful, and the patch was sampled over a 19-day period that included two intense storms. In this paper we (1) document the model and how the data are assimilated, (2) present and discuss the observations, (3) demonstrate that the interpolative skill of the model exceeds that of simpler schemes that use just the current velocity data, and (4) provide examples of how particle tracking with the model enables asynoptically acquired data to be displayed as synoptic maps, greatly facilitating both underway cruise planning and postcruise data analysis. An interesting feature of the circulation on the bank was a nearly stationary eddy atop the bank crest. Larvae within the eddy were retained on the bank in a favorable environment until the onset of the storms. The variable integrity of the eddy may contribute to fluctuations of year-class success. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996