The general production model of Deriso-Schnute is modified to assess the stock of Wanshan Spring Decapterus maruadsi (T. & S.) in the South China Sea, using catch/effort data from 1960 to 1984. Limited data on age composition and growth were available and these were used to estimate growth parameters, the natural survival rate and proportions of fish recruiting at early ages. Stock-recruitment and catchability parameters were estimated by fitting the catch/effort data to the Deriso-Schnute model, using nonlinear parameter estimation. Equilibrium analysis for the fitted model suggests that the virginal stock was ∼63 600 tons, of which the maximum average yield is close to 17 900 tons and would be associated with an average biomass of ∼30 000 tons. To take this maximum would require approximately the present annual fishing capacity of 250 fishing boats, producing a 0.60 annual harvest rate. The present stock is at the lowest level on record; different recovery and management strategies were evaluated by computer simulations. Only ∼3 years would be needed for the stock to recover to optimum equilibrium biomass with no fishing, but it is suggested that a longer recovery period, under reduced fishing effort, would be preferable.