Larry thanks for the heads up. Will try listening in on the webinar. Look at updated graphs through 2017 on pages 21 and 23 of the 66th SAW, they illustrate the ENTIRE problem the summer flounder fishery is experiencing due to the flawed policy decisions and ideologies NMFS has utilized. I find it interesting they refer to recruitment statistics in the graph on page 23 as relative survival as opposed to relative overall egg production, two entirely different meanings. Not sure if that's intended to mean egg reproduction is occuring but the eggs are not surviving causing the precipitous decline or if overall egg reproduction is down because of the number of eggs being produced is far less due to too many females being harvested and other factors. Two different issues all together. In my opinion, the cause is the later due to large females being harvested both recreationally and commercially and increased harvest by commercials of larger females with greater egg production capacity. As I've said too many times already, if that problem and the trajectory it's been on for over twenty years isn't better understood and corrected, this fishery will continue its slide. Absolutely no reason for that to have to be the outcome here. We have history and regulations from 1989 through 2002 which had a definitive and highly positive impact on SSB at much greater catch levels (tonnage), significantly higher possession limits, significantly lower size limits than today but NMFS and ASMFC for some reason choose to ignore that tried and proven approach to managing the fishery. Just don't understand their logic with or without the constraints of MSA being considered.

As I've stated before, NMFS / ASMFC are doing nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with their management philosophy towards this fishery.