An inflated subpolar gyre blows life toward the northeastern Atlantic

•We investigate the impact of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre variations on zooplankton.•The focus is on the Irminger Sea and the south Iceland shelf region and on sub-decadal time scale.•A northeastward extension of the subpolar gyre limb enriches the biological production.•Driving mechanisms are: deep mixing, frontal shifts and advection.•The marked “high-or-low” variability in this region might be predicted more than a year in advance.