SUMMARY

Catch and effort data from the Azorean Baitboat Fleet was used to construct an index of abundance for skipjack tuna. Standardized catch rates were estimated using a Generalized Linear Mixed modeling approach assuming a delta-lognormal error distribution. The explanatory variables considered for standardization included year, month and vessel type. The index suggests that the catch rate of skipjack tuna varies annually without obvious trend. KEY WORDS Catch/effort, abundance, fisheries statistics, multivariate analyse