Incorporating Unobserved Cyclical Stock Movements in Fishery Catch Equations: An Application to the Florida Blue Crab Fishery

Abstract

Continuous time series data on stock levels frequently are nonexistent, necessitating the use of proxy measures such as catch per unit effort. When stocks exhibit seasonal or cyclical movements, the use of such proxy measures may lead to erroneous inferences regarding fishery management alternatives. Spectral analysis was used to identify and incorporate unobserved cyclical stock movements into an aggregate catch equation for the west coast Florida blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) fishery.