The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 14 No. 16 - February 12, 2014

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Manatee Chapter of CCA holds annual banquet

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Participants have an opportunity to win this Pathfinder
boat, motor and trailer at the Manatee CCA Banquet

On Thursday, Feb. 27, The Manatee Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) will hold its 15th annual banquet presented by Conley Buick GMC at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, One Haben Boulevard, Palmetto, Fla. An open bar, silent auction and raffle kick off the event at 5:30 p.m., followed by a steak dinner and live auction at 7:30 p.m. All money raised will help to continue CCA Florida’s conservation efforts. Auction items include: Exotic trips, artwork, Yamaha engines, Hell’s Bay skiffs, fishing tackle, locally guided fishing trips, and jewelry.

Individual tickets are $85 and include dinner, open bar and a one-year CCA membership. Couples’ tickets are $150 and include two dinners, open bar, one CCA regular and one CCA associate membership. There are also several Corporate Sponsorships available. The $500 Corporate Sponsorship includes, four dinners, four memberships, open bar, a half-page program ad and priority seating. The $1,000 Corporate Sponsorship includes priority seating, eight dinners, eight CCA memberships, a full page ad in the program, a limited edition signed and numbered framed print, eight CCA hats, eight CCA mugs and shirts, banner space in the facility and a two-hour open bar.

During the banquet, a Pathfinder 2200 TRS boat, motor and trailer will be raffled off. Raffle tickets are $50 each. In addition a 28-foot Contender Tournament Edition boat, motor and trailer will be raffled off. Raffle tickets for the Contender are $50 each. Finally a Hell’s Bay Glades skiff boat, motor and trailer will be raffled off. Raffle tickets for the Glades skiff are $25 each or three for $60

The CCA is a non-profit organization with 17 coastal state chapters covering the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic seaboard and the Pacific Northwest. CCA began in 1977 after overfishing along the Texas coast devastated speckled trout and redfish populations. In response 14 concerned recreational anglers created the Gulf Coast Conservation Association (GCCA) to combat overfishing.

The GCCA became a rally point with anglers with the Save the Redfish campaign, and by 1985, chapters had formed along the Gulf coast. By the early 1990s, the mid-Atlantic region and New England had chapters. Washington and Oregon opened CCA chapters in 2007.

CCA has participated in virtually every national fisheries debate since 1984. CCA’s legal defense fund has been used to defend net bans, fight for the implementation of by catch reduction devices, support pro-fisheries legislation, and battle arbitrary no-fishing zones in the federal court system.

]The CCA is engaged in scores of local, state and national projects that initiate scientific studies, fund marine-science scholarships, build artificial reefs, create fish hatcheries, initiate hydrologic and contaminant studies, monitor freshwater inflows, support local marine law enforcement and more.

In 1985 The Florida Conservation Association (FCA) became the fifth state chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association. The Manatee Chapter was one of the first chapters to be formed in the state. By 1986, the FCA successfully intervened in lawsuits filed by commercial interests that opposed a Spanish mackerel recovery plan. In 1988, the FCA won a four-year battle to achieve gamefish status for Florida's depleted redfish stocks, making redfish the first species to be removed from Florida's market since 1957.

Until it was merged under the banner of the CCA, the FCA also helped protect billfish and prevent the unnecessary killing of tarpon by lobbying for implementation of a $50 harvest tag. The organization is also credited with achieving a major legislative victory when it lobbied to establish the first recreational saltwater fishing license in Florida. The FCA insisted that license revenues be protected and directed to marine fisheries management, research and law enforcement.

Attendance at the banquet supports the efforts of the CCA, but the camaraderie, dinner and bar are worth the price of a ticket. It’s also a great time to network with local fishermen and guides and have an opportunity to purchase some very special fishing tackle, art work, fishing trips and win top of the line fishing boats.

For Corporate Sponsorships contact Brian Gorski at 941-720-4446 or Ron Crowder at 941-795-8442, ext. 101. Tickets will not be sold at the door, but can be purchased online at www.ccaflorida.org


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