Fluctuations of a Fortnightly Abundance Index of the Ivoirian Coastal Pelagic Species and Associated Environmental Conditions
In this paper we analyze time series of catch per unit of effort (CPUE) from 1966 to 1982 of small pelagic species off the Ivory Coast using sea surface temperature (SST) collected by merchant ships. A fill-in model is used to estimate missing values of CPUE and SST in the areas in which the fishery operates. A multivariate time series model of the fortnightly data is able to explain 43% of the observed variance in CPUE from 1966 to 1982. A model estimated by using only the data from 1966 to 1980 produced reasonable forecasts of the fortnightly CPUE for 1981–82. A new approach for estimating optimal transformations of variables in the model is used to examine the form of the relationships between CPUE and its predictors. The biological interpretation of the estimated transformations is consistent with previous results on the dynamics of zooplankton in the same area.