Collating stock assessment packages to improve stock assessments

Stock assessments are integral to fisheries management, and the demand for stock assessments based on population dynamics models continues to increase. Historically, stock assessments have been based on bespoke methods and software. There is now a trend towards the use of flexible, documented, tested and maintained software packages, because use of such packages increases efficiency and consistency in assessments and should lead to more reliable and repeatable assessment outcomes. We have developed a web-site that collates available stock assessment packages (from data-limited to -rich) to provide assessment analysts with a single platform that summarizes the features of the available packages in a consistent manner. We also highlight current state-of-the-art packages, and those that are no longer supported or have been superseded. In addition to providing the packages, the web-site facilitates users of packages to provide feedback to developers regarding which features of other packages could be included in future versions of their packages. We see this effort as a way to support the design of the next generation stock assessment package.