Scientific Advice for stock management is provided by the Scientific Council upon request by:

• The Commission for specific fish stocks within the NAFO Regulatory Area; or 
• Coastal States who need information on stocks within their EEZs or on stocks that are straddling between two jurisdictional areas. 

The Scientific Council may also conduct stock assessments on its own accord and present the results to the Commission. Designated Experts take the lead role in coordinating the assessments. Additional scientific advice is also routinely requested by the Commission on topics such as marine ecosystems and stock interactions.

The majority of scientific assessments occur during the annual Scientific Council meeting in June; however, assessments are also completed in the autumn during the shrimp meeting and NAFO Annual Meeting, respectively.

Details of all matters addressed by the Scientific Council, including advice, are published in NAFO Scientific Council Reports.