Stock assessments are quantitative estimates of the status (abundance) of the fish stocks and of the intensity of fishing upon them. Assessments underpin the scientific advice for management that is provided by the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics to the Commission: They aim at evaluating the sustainability of current and proposed future harvest practices in light of the Commission's objective to maintain the populations at a level that permits their maximum sustainable catch. The species Executive Summaries and Detailed Reports of stock assessments prepared by the SCRS can be downloaded from this site. Readers are warned that the concusions reached from a stock assessment can depend on a number of factors such as the available data, the various hypotheses examined and the assumptions made during analysis.