Given the complexity of developing indices of abundance and determining which indices may be useful for use in stock assessments and that SEDAR independent peer review panels have commented that objective and consistent criteria for evaluating indices are currently lacking, SEDAR Procedural Workshop 1 (PW 01) was convened to gather key members of the SEDAR assessment community to prepare a guide to index development and evaluation. The workshop was held October 14-17, 2008 in Miami, FL.