The model requires complete time series of data in total catch as well as an index of stock abundance. The estimates of total catch were obtained by adding the catch estimates of all the fleets in each country, and these were used as total catch series. The CPUE from Guinea’s artisanal fishery (1995-2012) was chosen, because for the series made available to the Working Group, it was believed to better reflect the variations of the biomass of the stock. The CPUE for 2005 was not considered in the assessment owing to an error in the estimates. For bonga, the artisanal CPUE was considered more appropriate than the industrial series. After an analysis of the time series, the Working Group decided to proceed with an assessment using the catch data from Guinea only given the lack of catch information from fisheries exploiting the stock from the other countries. For example, there is no information on artisanal catches in Guinea-Bissau and Liberia and no updated information from Sierra Leone for the recent years. The initial parameters used for the assessment model were: - Ethmalosa fimbriata: r =0.7, K = 150 000 tonnes and BI/K = 60 percent.