Steve, I know you're only playing devil's advocate, but I also know that you didn't make up that line of reasoning out of thin air. I've heard the "if we don't keep enough then Rhode Island (or New Jersey or whoever) will take OURS".
That's horsedung. If we restrict our catch, we will have the moral authority to encourage others to do so.
We need a Maine-style slot limit (20"-26", or 40"+), we need to get the Mid Atlantic states to knock it off with the 18" fish, and we need to get North Carolina out of the haul seining business.