For the Love of Florida
Most Floridians understand the importance of coastal habitat restoration. But did you know what a difference these projects are making in our state? And how joint efforts by various conservation groups and volunteers are protecting and restoring Florida’s marine habitat for the future?
Check out the latest in CCA Florida habitat restoration projects and the progress we’re making with partner conservation groups. Thanks to our friend C.A. Richardson of Flats Class for helping share our story!
Help us spread the word by sharing this video, or supporting the Building Conservation Trust, CCA’s national habitat funding program. Not a CCA member? Join now to make a difference.
CCA testifies before Congress on red snapper fiasco
Three-day season in 2017 marks new low in federal management of popular fishery
Washington, D.C. – May 2, 2017 -- On the same day that NOAA Fisheries announced the shortest recreational red snapper season in history, Mark Ray, chairman of CCA Texas, was testifying before a Congressional hearing on dismal federal management of the fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Ray told the House Subcommittee on Interior, Energy and the Environment, chaired by Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), that red snapper is a man-made fishery management disaster.
Read more: CCA testifies before Congress on red snapper fiasco
FLORIDA SENATE PASSES EVERGLADES BILL (SB 10)
The newly passed Bill focuses on 31,000 acres of land the state already owns in the Everglades Agricultural Area. Generally referred to as Parcels A-1 and A-2, the Bill proposes using these parcels for greater storage of Lake Okeechobee discharges. The Bill also directs the purchase or exchange of 3,700 acres of land between Parcel A-2 and Stormwater Treatment Area 5/6, and allows the purchase of additional properties for treatment before the water is discharged into the Everglades.
SB-10 has undergone dramatic revisions since it was filed, and the measure may undergo yet more revisions in the House. More must be done to protect the Everglades and our estuaries, and we must complete the other restoration projects already underway or scheduled. CCA Florida also encourages the Legislature to protect Amendment 1 monies and ensure they are put to their intended use. CCA Florida encourages you to raise your voice to Tallahassee by contacting your Representative in support of the measure before it comes to a vote.
U.S. Reps. Graves, Green, Webster, Wittman Champion Federal Saltwater Fisheries Reform
Washington, D.C. – April 6, 2017 – The recreational fishing and boating community praised the introduction of a bill that addresses critical challenges facing saltwater recreational fishing at the federal level. Led by Congressmen Garret Graves (R-La.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017” (Modern Fish Act) would improve public access to America’s federal waters, promote conservation of our natural marine resources and spur economic growth.
“On behalf of America’s 11 million saltwater anglers, we thank Congressmen Graves, Green, Webster and Wittman for championing this legislation to modernize federal recreational fishing management,” said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy. “For decades, the recreational fishing community has been subjected to antiquated federal policies not designed to manage recreational fishing. The time is now to update these policies so families can fully enjoy our nation’s remarkable marine resources and continue a proud American tradition on the water.”
Read more: U.S. Reps. Graves, Green, Webster, Wittman Champion Federal Saltwater Fisheries Reform
Fish grab scheme put on hold in South Atlantic
Commercial Fishing Collaborative withdraws permit application for catch shares
JEKYLL ISLAND, GEORGIA - A controversial exempted fishing permit (EFP) to initiate a commercial privatization program for at least six species of fish in the South Atlantic was shelved this week after widespread public outcry. The announcement that the South Atlantic Commercial Fishing Collaborative, made up of two sitting Council members and one former member, were withdrawing the EFP was made at the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Jekyll Island, Georgia.
“Public sentiment against this EFP was overwhelming, which shows that the angling public is very much aware of these privatization schemes and they’ve had enough of them,” said Bill Bird, chairman of the Coastal Conservation Association’s National Government Relations Committee. “There should be no place for privatization of our public marine resources in the federal fisheries management system, but our fear is that this EFP will be retooled and reintroduced in the future when the noise dies down. Anglers in the South Atlantic will have to remain vigilant.”
NOAA Turns a Blind Eye
By Jeff Angers
This question often comes up in discussions about the federal fisheries management process: Why are people who profit from the harvest and sale of America’s marine resources allowed to sit on management bodies that make regulations governing those resources?
It’s a good question.
The most contentious issue in the Gulf of Mexico is privatization of the red snapper fishery in which millions of dollars’ worth of a public resource was gifted to select commercial operators to harvest for their own personal profit. Gifted, for free. Yet, someone who owns red snapper shares can sit on the Gulf Council and vote on every aspect of that fishery. And one does…. Click Here for the rest of the article.
Gulf Scandal Looms for South Atlantic
By Jeff Angers, Sport Fishing magazine
The chaos characterizing Gulf of Mexico fisheries laws is poised to infect South Atlantic waters without executive-level intervention.
Gag grouper are just one of the popular sport-fish species that may become part of a new "giveaway" in the Atlantic.
Chaos reigns in marine fisheries management thanks to a federal agency that advocates for private ownership of America’s public resources.
The alarming investigative series “Hooked Up” (Fox8/New Orleans) dug deep into the muck of the controversial giveaway of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Now the stage is being set to export this swamp to the South Atlantic for at least six species – blueline tilefish, gag grouper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack, the jacks complex and vermilion snapper.
A group calling itself the South Atlantic Commercial Fishing Collaborative is using the oft-abused federal Exempted Fishing Permit process…… Click here for the rest of the story
Senators Weigh in on Billfish Conservation Act
WASHINGTON, DC (February 16, 2017) – Conservationists and anglers are praising a bill filed yesterday by U.S. Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that seeks to clear the way for full implementation of a landmark law to raise protections for billfish. The Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) was lauded when it was signed into law in 2012, but a slight ambiguity in the wording of the original legislation prevented it from being implemented as intended by the federal government.
“IGFA has been devoted to the success of the Billfish Conservation Act from the beginning, and we are hopeful that the action of Senators Nelson, Rubio, Manchin and Moran will close the continental U.S market for billfish once and for all," said Rob Kramer, president of the International Game Fish Association. “On behalf of the millions of saltwater recreational anglers, thank you for working to ensure the United States is the leader in billfish conservation."
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