Stock Synthesis

Stock Synthesis (SS3) is an age- and size-structured integrated stock assessment model developed by Richard Methot at NOAA Fisheries, the dominant operational platform for assessing harvested stocks. It fits one statistical model to many data streams at once: catch, length and age compositions, survey indices, and tagging, estimating growth, selectivity, recruitment, and fishing mortality jointly. Methot received the Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 2008 for the approach, which now underpins assessments of more than 100 stocks worldwide including Pacific sardine, Pacific cod, and bluefin tuna. SS3 is distributed through the NOAA Fisheries Integrated Toolbox.