It is thus crucially important that ongoing disputes about the meaning of the signals from these data sets cease and Namibian scientists resolve the key factors affecting the precision and accuracy of estimates based on these data. Only if understanding is thus improved and scientific advice adhered to, by both the Marine Resources Advisory Council and the Minister, will Namibia be in a position to rebuild these fisheries. Fisheries stock assessment requires a good understanding of the dynamics of fisheries (Hilborn and Walters 1992) in order to correctly interpret fisheries-dependent data.