During 13-15 September 2000, the Scientific Council held the Special Session in conjunction with the 22nd Annual Meeting of NAFO, at the Boston Back Bay Hilton, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. D. Rivard (Canada) and C. Darby (EU-United Kingdom) were conveners, and R. K. Mayo (USA) played a key role in the preparation of the Workshop and the presentation of tutorials.

At its meeting of 18-22 September 2000, the Council evaluated this Workshop as a very informative and a valuable contribution to the work of the Scientific Council. While recommending that a workbook should be published in the Scientific Council Studies series. the Council noted the publication could constitute previously published information as well as public domain material. While there was a considerable time lapse in the preparation of the final texts and tutorials for this publication, the comprehensive coverage achieved in this publication is believed to be timely and important for scientists throughout the world dealing with stock assessments.