Regulatory agencies across the U.S. have regularly come up short on real, usable data to manage our fisheries correctly. We are often left using what is known as “best available science,” a phrase that can loosely be translated as “we know it’s not great, but it’s all we got.” With today’s technological advances, we should be far more adept at finding innovative ways to gather and record data. As conservationists, recreational anglers are typically more than willing to raise their hand to help out with it.

At CCA California, we have utilized our membership to function as a tool to collect data in our STAR Tournament. We have yet to meet any angler on our side of the country who is unwilling to participate and many are eager to be part of a solution. The perspective of the anglers in California fisheries management has never been so important as anglers now have a seat at the table in management decisions via our organization. Their willingness to submit data through our tournament app speaks volumes on the valuable role anglers can play to gather data.

In 2025, we created our “Shorts” Division shortly before we started the tournament which was fueled by a Fish and Game Commission Meeting that aimed to take the sand bass bag limit from five fish to zero. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) was desperate for data on this species in particular and CCA California, along with the Sportfishing Association of California (SAC) each created programs to collect that data. CCA California and others successfully convinced the California Fish & Game Commission (FGC) to only reduce the sub-bag limit of sand bass from five to four, with a three-year sunset on that regulation. Fishermen showed up, spoke out, and the result was avoiding a zero-take bag limit during the summer months.

Fast forward to September 2025, our STAR Tournament was able to collect just over 1,700 data points and submissions of barred sand bass alone just through the “Shorts” Division. Through the Fishing Chaos app, we have opened the door on data collection across many different species. All of those data points on barred sand bass that were submitted are being used to compile length composition of the species on a multi-year time series across sectors.

In 2026, CDFW reached out to CCA California and others regarding a potential stock assessment on a new species and one we are very close to – white sea bass. After a few meetings and some collaboration between us and the agency, we are now planning to expand our data collection efforts through the tournament by allowing all legal-sized white sea bass to be entered into our Data Collection Division, as well as in our grand prize division. The legal limit after June 1 is three total fish for white sea bass with a minimum length of 28 inches. The Data Collection Division allows participants the potential to submit one additional fish, as well as any legal-sized fish that do not qualify under our grand prize division. The minimum length for white sea bass in our tournament is 36 inches and maximum number of entries per species is typically two. All of the white sea bass data will then be used in a stock assessment starting in 2027.

The model works. Anglers have shown they want to participate in opportunities like this, mainly because it enables anglers of all ages and experiences a chance to make a difference by contributing to real fisheries management data collection, powered by fishermen rather than individuals who set regulations from a desk. Since our first STAR tournament back in 2024, we have been able to collect data sets for all of our eligible species. Working with the Department and the app, we constantly make modifications on the back end to identify what values are most important to capture as it varies per species.

Our tournament is certainly unique in many ways, but at least here on the West Coast, it’s not too different from many other tournaments hosted on mobile apps throughout the country. This truly is one of the most effective ways to fill the gap between science and anglers. We look forward to constantly fine-tuning the tournament and using it as a model for data collection with our partners at Fishing Chaos who have shown support along the way.

For more information, head over to www.CCACalifornia.org/STAR