Why does Mendicino management area close so early?

RCG fishing at Albion and nearby locations closes on August 16th.   Why does this area close so much earlier than other California areas ?
K

As I recall, (from my questionable memory) it's because historically the yelloweye catch in that area is higher than either north or south so they made the RCG areas a bit smaller and closed that one earlier which allows the others to stay open later. I love that area and hate to see it close so early but I believe it helps keep our region open longer.

Or I could be completely wrong,

I'm sure others that do know (for sure) will chime in.

CA's rockfish seasons are based on yelloweye rf. The areas with more yelloweyes have shorter seasons to reduce the amount of incidental harvest. Of course, the formula used to determine yelloweye harvest (or abundance) is highly questionable.

Wow, that was something that I often wondered myself. I guess that seems to be a good enough reason.