The purpose of this article is to review Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, highlighting some of the legal and policy implications to the fishing community and regulatory bodies. Questions of impact are framed from the local fishing community perspective, while larger questions of regulatory implications, including statutory purpose, are identified where appropriate. The article concludes by identifying necessary policy questions that need to be resolved if we are to move toward a coherent strategy of national fisheries management that is both rational for the sake of the resource, and equitable to those who are most directly impacted.