SUMMARY

• Main Authors: Guillermo A. Diaz, Mauricio Ortiz
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1663
• Subjects: Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.493.7772; http://www.iccat.int/Documents/CVSP/CV060_2007/no_5/CV060051663.pdf

Indices of abundance of white and blue marlin for the U.S. pelagic longline fishery in the Northwest Atlantic and U.S. Gulf of Mexico are presented for the period 1986-2005. The index of weight (kg) per thousand hooks was estimated from the number of marlin caught reported by the commercial fleet through a logbook reporting system, and from mean annual weight estimated from observations obtained by scientific observers aboard longline vessels since 1992 (Pelagic Observer Program). The standardization analysis procedure included the following variables: year, area of fishing, gear characteristics (e.g., main line length, number of hooks, light sticks, etc.), and fishing characteristics (e.g., bait type, target species, etc.). The standardized indexes were estimated using Generalized Linear Mixed Models under a Delta lognormal model approach. White marlin CPUE series showed a declining trend from 1986