Stationarity and rate of dampening of modeled indices of fish abundance in relation to their exploitation status in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Time series modeling of indices of fish abundance provided support for Ricker's theoretical concept of the effects of fishing on cycling and population behavior. Modeled damped oscillations of indices of fish abundance through time reflected a reduction of effect of density-dependent compensatory mechanisms with increased fishing pressure. ARIMA models tended to explain less variability for exploited than for unexploited species. Therefore, the utility of these models is limited for exploited species. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.