A draft guide to the compleat ELEFAN

This draft guide introduces the 10-diskette , graphics-oriented Compleat ELEFAN software package (version 1.0, February 1989) for length-based fish stock assessment, implemented for IBM=) PC and compatible microcomputers with at least 520 Kbytes of memory. Emphasis is given to the description of program operations, and to the linkages between the different routines, which cover most aspects of fish population dynamics (i.e. growth, mortality, gear selection, virtual population, yield-per-recruit analyses, etc). This guide does not - except in cursory manner and for new methods - discuss the models behind the various routines, but references are provided to key articles in the original literature. Readers are invited to provide suggestions towards improving the Compleat ELEFAN package and its future detailed documentation.