Research Article

Characterization and standardization of the Atlantic albacore French pelagic trawl fishery

¹ IFREMER, Délégation Océan Indien, Rue Jean BERTHO, 97822 Le Port Cedex, France
² Agence de Recherche pour la Biodiversité à la Réunion (ARBRE), 97436 Saint-Leu, La Réunion
³ NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL, 33149, USA
⁴ IFREMER, 1 allée du Parc Montaury, 64600 Anglet, France
⁵ IRD, UMR MARBEC, 44 bld de Dunkerque, 13572 Marseille, France

^* Corresponding author: natachanikolic@hotmail.com

Handling Editor: V. Trenkel

Received: 21 November 2017
Accepted: 6 July 2018

Abstract

We compiled and analysed logbook data from the French trawl albacore fishery covering the period 1991–2015. The dataset comprised catch and effort data for the French fleet operating in the Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea, as well as spatiotemporal and gear characteristics. Generalized linear modelling was used to model spatial, seasonal, environmental, and gear covariates of fleet CPUE rates. A long-term index of relative abundance is provided that can be integrated into the stock assessment of North Atlantic albacore. The analysis revealed higher albacore CPUE associated with relatively low sea surface temperature and distinct seasonal effects. The derived abundance trend for the French trawl fishery agreed with the estimated time series of stock abundance from recent assessments.