Evaluating Relative Abundance of Key Finfish and Crustacean Species in the Inshore Waters of Louisiana after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

We examined fisheries data collected and reported by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from 1990 to 2011 describing the relative abundance of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus), and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus).  The data were collected by the LDWF at designated sampling stations throughout coastal Louisiana. We conducted time series analyses to evaluate potential changes in the relative abundance of these species over time and space. We also evaluated the data for high level comparisons between relative abundance and potential exposure to the surface slicks associated with the Deepwater Horizon accident.