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The DEM regs are in place to keep people from taking undersize fish. If you have 4 fillets in your cooler, it would be impossible to know if they were taken from a 27" fish or a 28" fish. By keeping the carcass whole, you can prove that the fish are legal size.
As for keeping the fish fresh, I always bleed out blues and bass and put them on ice. It keeps the blood from getting into the meat and also keeps the fish from flopping around in the fish box and bruising the flesh. I think one of the reasons bluefish have a reputation as a bad tasting fish is because they are not bled out right away and put on ice.
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