[Broad Bill]

I agree with Gerry, PDDMD is one of the good guys. I'll say it up front, I'm not attending the meeting and here's my reason. We go through this process every year and the discussions which should matter most are never discussed, and that's what's best to nurse the fishery back to health and address egregious issues caused by outdated regulations used for the last two decades. No one ever discusses fisheries management which is the exact opposite of how fresh water fisheries are managed. These meetings, I'm sorry to say, don't accomplish what you'd hope they would. They're a requirement of MSA and if decisions haven't been made, when they are they'll be made as always for reasons that have nothing to do with the management of the stock. So where I agree an official decision hasn't been made, the foundation of that decision has and it has nothing to do with how many people attend the meeting in person or virtually or what those people have to say. This starts with the federal government having their heads in the sand and favoring commercial catch values and the lack of focus on actual fisheries management and the states are essentially forced to follow the trickle down effects of a federal system which bases their decisions on sectors, heavily slanted towards the commercial sector, and not what's best for the stocks under their management. I spend my time on matters that can benefit from my involvement, these meetings don't check that box. Some will say that's a defeatist attitude, history will support it's a realistic attitude. That's the frustration the general public and recreational community has with this process and it's well supported because basically every year we get screwed.