Coastal Conservation Association
The Coastal Conservation Association is a grassroots, non-profit, social movement organization of salt water anglers from 17 coastal states spanning the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts. [1] The CCA is primarily concerned with the restoration and conservation of coastal marine resources. It operates on all three governmental tiers, those being the national, state, and local levels.
History
The Coastal Conservation Association formed in 1977 as the Gulf Coast Anglers Association, through the efforts of 14 anglers, in reaction to commercial over-fishing of redfish and speckled trout populations in Texas. [2] The CCA was founded and chaired for many years by Walter Fondren III, the heir to the Humble Oil/Exxon fortune. The spread of the CCA still continues, with both Washington and Oregon forming chapters in 2007, linking all of the 17 Continental United States' coastal states. Today, it is the largest marine conservation group of its kind. [2]
Organization
The CCA has 206 chapters in 17 coastal states with a membership of over 100,000 people. The CCA functions as a bottom up enterprise, focusing on the grassroots level of local politics and traveling up all the way through national levels of government.
The CCA has 100,000 members in 206 chapters throughout the 17 local states. It has more than 80 state and national committees, 150 national board directors and over 900 board members. [2] CCA currently retains approximately 17 state and national lobbyists.
CCA Fisheries Committees
- Atlantic States Fisheries Committee
- South Atlantic Fisheries Committee
- Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Committee
- Pacific Northwest Fisheries Committee [3]
Mission Statement
"The stated purpose of the CCA is to advise and educate the public on conservation of marine resources. The objective of the CCA is to conserve, promote, and enhance the present and future availability of these coastal resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public."[1]