Relations entre le pouvoir de pêche et les caractéristiques des chalutiers de La Rochelle dans la pêche du merlu

The aim of this study is to define relationships between fishing power and vessel characteristics, and we have only considered in this paper, La Rochelle off-shore trawlers, fishing for hake. Overall length, gross registered tonnage and break horse power are the vessel characteristics taken into account. The relative fishing power bas been calculated according to Eeverton and Holt's method (1954) and for that purpose statistics set up by the Institut des Pêches Laboratory of La Rochelle in 1966-67 and 68. have been used ; only hake catches have been reckoned, and we have considered that two trawlers were fishing at the same place when they went on fishing in the same ICES sud-area, and at the same time, when the catches were sold during the same month. Regressions of fishing power with engins power, gross tonnage or length, have been calculated both for side-travlers and sterntrawlers. For the 79 side-trawlers, the three regression coefficients are significant and the regressions rnay be considered as linear. For the 7 stern-trawlers, only the coefficient of fishing power to engine power is significant, and linearity has not been tested. So, fishing power i s significantly correlated to engine power, length and tonnage ; but the survey of partial correlation coefficients shows that any correlation desappears between fishing power and length or tonnage when the eftect of engine power is rernoved