By Pat Murray

CCA is purely an inshore-fisheries conservation association…right? Not exactly.

Clearly, CCA was founded in the conservation of bay and estuary species. Its humble beginnings in Texas are firmly rooted in the well being of redfish and speckled trout. As the organization grew beyond the Gulf of Mexico to the Eastern Seaboard, it continued to address the conservation needs of a host of bay and nearshore species, including such superstars as snook, tarpon, weakfish and striped bass.

Through the evolution and subsequent growth of the organization, however, conservation focus quickly expanded outside state waters; ultimately, CCA’s grassroots strength and attention were turned to offshore fisheries with the same fervor as was applied to the inshore fisheries on which the group made its reputation in conservation.

Realize first that offshore fisheries do not begin and end offshore. All marine species are tethered to the lifeblood of inshore estuaries and bays in some manner. Menhaden, mullet, shrimp and even inshore gamefish make up a large portion of offshore species’ diets. They are irreplaceable links in the bluewater ecosystem. Without a healthy food supply from the bays, bluewater species would be out of luck. CCA’s work on such apparently non-bluewater issues as conserving key forage fish and crustaceans, protecting freshwater inflows, and banning gill nets in coastal bays has tremendous effect on the health and productivity of offshore fisheries.

But protecting estuaries and bays is not enough to provide true conservation benefit for Gulf and Atlantic offshore fisheries and fishermen. CCA has worked through our nation’s federal council system, courts and Congress to reduce bycatch and destructive fishing practices in commercial fisheries, conserve recreationally important deepwater species, and protect recreational anglers’ freedom to fish for healthy stocks in federal waters.

CCA’s first big punch was thrown in 1988, in the form of a successful fight to gain federal gamefish status for marlins and sailfish. While this initial action protected some premier gamefish and bluewater predators, it took an additional Federal District Court battle in 1990 to uphold that status. CCA’s grassroots strength and legal defense fund made that court victory possible.

The management of billfish – and all highly migratory species – continues to be a complicated matter. With domestic and international longline fleets targeting tuna and swordfish in billfish-rich waters, bycatch happens. In the 106th Congress, CCA helped draft and introduce the first comprehensive bill (S 1911) to help reduce bycatch and effort in Gulf and Atlantic longline vessels and establish a research program to help solve some of the significant conservation issues facing those fisheries. Although the bill failed to pass in the waning hours of the session because of shortfalls in appropriations, it helped make longline management a primary focus within the conservation community, among fisheries managers and in the media.

As a poor substitute to the tenets of S 1911, the National Marine Fisheries Service implemented a longline management plan that threatens to actually increase the wasteful bycatch of marlins, sharks and turtles in Gulf and Atlantic longline operations. Although the program could help protect juvenile swordfish, it does so with potentially heavy consequences for other highly migratory species. With the potential for further decimation of white and blue marlin stocks and continued threat to flagging shark populations, CCA and The Billfish Foundation jointly filed suit against NMFS to halt this skewed plan. The suit still awaits a ruling in Federal District Court but should yield an outcome soon. Regardless of short-term conclusion, CCA will be there for long-term resolution.

CCA’s offshore achievements have not been limited to highly migratory species. Through extensive work in the federal council system and our nation’s court system, CCA has battled successfully for the recovery of Gulf red snapper stocks. As early as 1997, Gulf shrimpers were mandated to attach bycatch reduction devices to their trawls to help reduce the destruction of millions of juvenile red snapper. This action touched off a string of lawsuits by the Texas Shrimp Association in effort to remove BRD requirements, and CCA was there.

Through interventions in District and Circuit Court, CCA helped NMFS maintain requirements that BRDs be in place and functional in shrimpers’ nets. Without this necessary reduction in juvenile red snapper and critical forage fish bycatch, it is questionable if Gulf anglers would enjoy the current recovering red snapper population and six-month fishing season.

Even last year, TSA submitted a petition to NMFS to essentially close the recreational red snapper season. CCA issued a public statement in opposition to TSA’s attempts, and its National Government Relations Committee continues to monitor the situation. Although arguably the most high profile among Gulf reef fish, the red snapper is not the only species that CCA has included in its conservation efforts. Gag grouper, red grouper and myriad bottom species that are affected by destructive fish traps have benefited from CCA’s involvement in the council and court systems.

The biggest battle for offshore anglers still looms on the horizon. With the advent of marine protected areas being heralded as a panacea for fishery-management woes, some managers and radical environmental groups have called for no-fishing zones in large areas of our nation’s offshore waters. With calls for the closure of many deepwater canyons off the Atlantic Coast and prime recreational destinations in the Gulf of Mexico, the next fight may well be for recreational angler access to the very resources they have fought so hard to conserve and restore. This will not be a quick battle, and it will likely stretch through the councils, commissions, courts and Congress. CCA has already had a favorable settlement in a suit against NMFS over an arbitrary no-fishing zone in the Gulf, but there will surely be more to come.

CCA has never been myopic in its conservation focus. From South Texas redfish to New England groundfish, CCA has worked to balance the ever-changing conservation needs of a diverse marine ecosystem. By working at the state, national and international levels, CCA will continue to protect all coastal resources, even when the coast is just a dot on the horizon.