Updated outcomes on application of VAST model to fishery-independent survey data for Pacific saury

Effect of sea surface temperature was explored in spatio-temporal modeling of Pacific saury distribution using Japanese fishery-independent survey data thorough Vector Autoregressive Spatio-temporal (VAST) model. Abundance indices for age 0 and age 1 of this species were predicted thorough this modeling. Incorporating not only spatio-temporal variation but also SST effects on fish density resulted in a biologically plausible prediction of annual distribution patterns. Age-specific standardized abundance indices indicated similar year trends to nominal abundance indices except for some years.