EFFICIENCY OF THE CLIMPROD SOFTWARE IN ST UDIES ON RECRUITMENT VARIABILITY

Twenty surplus production models including an environmental variable h ave been proposed (FREON, 1986). CLIMPROD is an expert-system which he lps the user to select the model best adapted to his case according to both scientifically accepted knowledges and empirical criteria. The s oftware fits die models to the data set using a non-linear regression routine, assesses the fit with parametric and non-parametric (jackknif e) tests, and provides a graphic presentation of the results. Several examples from upwelling areas are given, demonstrating the capacities and lin-tits of the software. The case of the Panama shrimp fishery is analysed in more detail.