I imagine they're catching a lot, since fish are hanging in the tidewater longer, and they don't have to convince the fish to bite. Perhaps they were concerned they were catching too many and proposed some restraint to let the numbers rebuild?

Anyway, my final take is that these closures might be the right thing to do, but leaving the lower river and bay open is directly counterintuitive to any strategy designed to "protect" these staging fish.

I better quit thinking about this before I blow a fuse. I need a new hobby, more and more every day.