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Reference points based on fishing mortality (F) and spawning stock biomass (SSB) are a requirement of many fisheries management frameworks. SSB is assumed to be a proxy for stock reproductive potential (SRP). Limit reference points based on SSB are used to indicate the level of biomass below which productivity is affected. SSB fails to account for changes in fecundity, egg viability and sex ratio, and it has been argued that total egg production (TEP) provides a better reflection of SRP. We explore how accounting for TEP impacts limit reference points and evidence for a relationship between stock and recruit. Time series of SSB and TEP are compared for three North Sea stocks: cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). Dynamics based on TEP are different from those based on SSB for cod and plaice, but the stock–recruit relationships were not ‘improved’ using TEP …