CCA CALLS FOR DENIAL OF LONGLINE PERMITS
Longliners seek extension and expansion of permits to fish in conservation zones.

Alarmed at the growing prospect of “longline creep,” conservationists are calling on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to deny a request to extend and expand Exempted Fishing Permits issued in 2008 that cracked open the door for the commercial longline industry to fish in conservation zones created in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Citing a host of concerns in a letter to NMFS, Coastal Conservation Association is demanding that the original permits be allowed to expire on Feb. 28, 2009.

CCA LIFE MEMBER AND GIFT MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION
Due to the success of our Life Membership campaign we have extended the ARC Dehooker promotion through the end of the year! Take advantage of this generous offer from our friends at ARC today. We are also offering gift memberships for the holidays. Give the gift of conservation!

Downloadable forms available here.

CCA FLORIDA GRASSROOTS ALERT!

NEW RESEARCH REVEALS BOTTOM LONGLINE GEAR IS KILLING LARGE NUMBERS OF ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES!
CCA Florida strongly recommends that the Gulf Council and National Marine Fisheries Service take emergency action to prohibit bottom longline gear in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida.

CCA FLORIDA PRESENTS 2008 FWC OFFICER OF THE YEAR AWARD
In 2007, CCA Florida began a program, in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), to recognize individual FWC Officers who have provided outstanding law enforcement work. Officers are selected on a regional basis and recognized at CCA Florida’s local chapter banquets throughout the year. Annually, one of those officers is selected to be the CCA Florida - Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission - officer of the year. Thus far CCA Florida has recognized 25 outstanding FWC Officers and this year alone CCA Florida has presented awards to 18 officers.

KARL WICKSTROM SELECTED FOR IGFA HALL OF FAME
Karl Wickstrom, Founder and Editor–in-Chief of Florida Sportsman Magazine, CCA Florida Chairman Emeritus, and longtime advocate for fisheries conservation and recreational anglers has been selected for induction into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame. Karl was one of the founding members and longtime leaders of CCA Florida.

RECREATIONAL ANGLING SECURED BY PRESIDENTIAL ORDER
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush has again highlighted the importance of recreational angling to the country by signing an Executive Order that ensures federal agencies will manage fishing as sustainable activity in all federal waters, including marine protected areas (MPAs). The Order signed on Sept. 26, 2008, modifies Executive Order 12962 signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995.

CCA FLORIDA DONATES FISH MEASURING TOOLS TO
FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
CCA Florida Chairman Mark Carter formally presented the fish measuring tools to Commissioners at the September Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) meeting in Jacksonville.

“On behalf of our 10,000 members and as chairman of CCA Florida I was proud to present the donation of “Check-It Stiks” to the law enforcement arm of the FWC. As an organization we know how important their efforts are to the sustainability of our marine resources and just how difficult and, at times, dangerous, their jobs can be,” said Mark Carter, CCA Florida Chairman. “The measurement tools are a small token of our thanks for their efforts by hopefully making their duties easier. These dedicated men and women truly “measure up” to the high standards and ideals set forth by the institution they represent.”

CCA FLORIDA ANNOUNCES 2008 LEGISLATIVE CONSERVATION AWARDS
The Coastal Conservation Association of Florida has selected five state legislators to receive Legislative Conservation Awards in recognition of their support for marine fisheries conservation issues in 2008.

“We are very pleased to recognize these individuals,” said Mark Carter, CCA Florida Chairman. “Their ongoing involvement and support for fisheries conservation has been a great benefit for marine resources and recreational anglers.”

CCA FLORIDA PROMOTES LIFE MEMBER TO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
CCA Florida recently completed a major overhaul of staff assignments and duties by promoting life member and long time staff member, Brian Gorski, to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Brian will be responsible for all business operations of CCA Florida including fundraising, membership and corporate relations.

FWC COMMISSIONERS RESPECT CITIZEN MANDATE AND CONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON GILL NETS
Commercial netting interests once again tried to get the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to allow larger mesh sizes in nets so they could be used as a gill net. The issue was discussed with public testimony before the full Commission at its June 12 meeting in Ft. Lauderdale.

After several hours of staff presentations and public comment the Commissioners began their discussion. One of the first to speak was Commissioner Ken Wright.

“This is not a science question, the resource has rebounded. This constitutional amendment passed by a remarkable margin and our predecessors created a bright line definition, done objectively, and upheld in litigation,” said Wright. “I am adamantly in favor of keeping the current two inch regulation. We are Trustees of a decision and bound to follow the will of the people.”

CCA FLORIDA ADVOCACY UPDATE:
COMMERCIAL NETTING INTERESTS TRY AGAIN TO GET 500 SQ. FT. GILL NETS IN FLORIDA WATERS!
In November of 1994 an overwhelming 72 percent of Florida voters said yes to the constitutional amendment limiting marine net fishing. The amendment includes both a prohibition on the use of gill and entangling nets in all state waters and a size limit on other nets. Although the restrictions have been in place for 14 years, there are still factions within the commercial industry who refuse to accept the legal reality that the constitutional prohibition on gill nets means no gill nets.

CCA FLORIDA GRASS ROOTS ALERT! WHO OWNS THE FISH? MARINE FISHERIES ARE PUBLICLY OWNED RESOURCES. ALLOCATION PROCEDURES DETERMINE WHO GETS THE FISH.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is soliciting public input on possible options regarding the allocation of fishery resources between recreational and commercial user groups. Allocations within the recreational (e.g., for-hire and private) and commercial (e.g., hook-and-line, black sea bass pots, and longlines) sectors are also under consideration.

The reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the Councils to establish Annual Catch Limits (pounds or numbers of fish) for each species and Accountability Measures that ensure the catch limit is not exceeded in any year by any sector. To do this the Council must allocate the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) from the stock assessment process between recreational and commercial sectors.

FEDS PUT SWORDFISH LONGLINE BOATS IN FLORIDA EAST COAST PROTECTED AREA FOR “RESEARCH” PURPOSES
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) for three commercial swordfish longline boats to fish for research purposes in the Florida East Coast and Charleston Bump closed areas.

“NMFS issued the permits despite overwhelming public objection, opposition from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist, and the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council,” said Bill Bird, CCA Florida President and Government Relations Committee Chairman. “The feds have disregarded the comments and recommendations of Florida’s citizens and governmental leaders. Unfortunately, it appears that NMFS is just laying the ground work for allowing the longline fleet back into the Protected Areas.”

CCA AND EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK: CCA Florida Strongly Opposes No Motor - No Access Zones (PDF)
Earlier this year the National Park Service (NPS) released four preliminary alternatives, which were presented to the public as options and the basis of the development of the Everglades National Park General Management Plan (GMP). Originally the NPS had intended to select one as the Preferred Alternative. The four alternatives ranged from Alternative A which is the no action – status quo option to Alternative D which would prohibit the use of internal combustion engines in waters less than three feet deep, in Florida Bay alone, that alternative would prohibit traditional boating in more than 150 square miles! Other alternatives had large “backcountry” designations which are essentially no motor zones.

PRESIDENT ORDERS GAMEFISH STATUS FOR RED DRUM, STRIPED BASS
Surrounded by conservationists and anglers on the shores of historic Chesapeake Bay, President Bush today signed an Executive Order establishing gamefish status for red drum and striped bass in federal waters. The Order is a landmark victory for recreational anglers who have fought for decades to restore and conserve two of the most coveted sport fish in America.