Recent stock assessments of Atlantic Halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus in the United States have been unable to determine stock status. Although there are several fishery‐independent surveys available in the region, few Atlantic Halibut are typically encountered, the survey indices are highly variable, and a reliable index of abundance is not available for this stock. In the absence of reliable fishery‐independent surveys, standardized CPUE time series from the fishery can be used as an index of abundance. Incorporating harvesters’ knowledge into the CPUE standardization process can be beneficial because harvesters are knowledgeable about their fishery and target species and can provide valuable information on factors affecting catch rates and patterns in catch rates. In this study, we interviewed Atlantic Halibut harvesters in Maine to determine which covariates influence catch rates and we incorporated those covariates as predictor variables in the CPUE standardization of logbook data (2002–2017) from Maine’s state Atlantic Halibut fishery. Harvesters identified covariates (fishing location and an interaction of depth and month) that significantly influenced Atlantic Halibut catchability. The standardized time series showed a stable or slightly increasing trend in Atlantic Halibut catch rates, which was consistent with most harvesters’ perspectives. The results from this study highlight the value of collaborative research and provide information for management as a relatively empirical indicator of abundance.

中文翻译：

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将收割者的知识纳入西北大西洋大比目鱼的丰度指数

大西洋大比目鱼河马河马的近期种群评估在美国一直无法确定库存状态。尽管该地区有数个独立于渔业的调查，但通常很少遇到大西洋大比目鱼，调查指数变化很大，并且该种群没有可靠的丰度指数。在缺乏可靠的独立于渔业的调查的情况下，可以将来自渔业的标准CPUE时间序列用作丰度指标。将收获者的知识纳入CPUE标准化流程可能是有益的，因为收获者对他们的渔业和目标物种非常了解，并且可以提供有关影响捕获率和捕获率模式的因素的有价值的信息。在这个研究中，我们采访了缅因州的大西洋大比目鱼捕捞者，以确定哪些协变量影响捕捞率，并将这些协变量作为预测变量纳入了缅因州大西洋大比目鱼捕捞日志数据（2002-2017年）的CPUE标准化中。收割者确定了显着影响大西洋大比目鱼可捕性的协变量（捕鱼地点以及深度和月份的相互作用）。标准化的时间序列显示大西洋大比目鱼捕获率稳定或略有增加，这与大多数收割者的观点一致。这项研究的结果突出了合作研究的价值，并为管理提供了信息，作为相对丰富的经验指标。