The procedure of maintaining methods and equipment as constant as possible. Without standardization one cannot determine whether measurements of yearly differences in relative abundance are caused by actual fluctuations in stock abundance or by differences in the measurement procedure used. The lack of standardization is one reason why surveys using different commercial fishing vessels in different years do not produce comparable information. For example, if two vessels of different horsepower are used in separate years, the results cannot be compared unless vessel mensuration experiments are performed. This would involve a comparison of the two vessels' catches to determine the influence of their fishing power on the size of the catch, and a determination of a correction factor.