NOTE Kimura: Using the empirical Bayes method to estimate and evaluate bycatch rates of seablrds 



581 



The empirical Bayes method indicates that sampling 

 levels aboard individual vessels are sufficient to support 

 individual vessel estimates of seabird bycatch rates. 

 This seabird bycatch study was more an observational 

 rather than a controlled study. It was not known which 

 vessels used bird avoidance gear, or how this gear was 

 deployed, or what other relevant onboard practices were 

 taking place. Nevertheless, this seabird bycatch study 

 illustrates how EB methods can provide alternative 

 estimators and evaluation methods for a variety of sam- 

 pling problems. 



Acknowledgments 



I thank S. Fitzgerald, J. Breiwick, P. Livingston, and 

 three anonymous reviewers for comments that helped 

 to improve the manuscript. 



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