Frequently Asked Questions
A Guide to CCA
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How are CCA’s
political, fisheries and legislative positions established?
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Where does my
membership and/or fundraiser contribution go?
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Does CCA employ
biologists?
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Does CCA employ
lobbyists?
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How do I find out
what CCA is doing to conserve marine resources legislatively and in the
fisheries management arena?
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Where do I get
useful CCA state numbers?
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I signed up a
while ago. Where is my membership package?
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What does the
legal defense fund do?
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How can I help
CCA?
1. How are CCA’s political, fisheries and legislative
positions established?
CCA makes all decisions from the bottom up,
involving our membership in all policy positions. Through an extensive
web of volunteer committees and boards, CCA’s state and/or national
(depending on the issue) volunteer executive committees vote to adopt
all policies and positions. Every position is based on facts, strategy
and more than 20 years of conservation experience.
CCA Chairman Walter Fondren explains that CCA
“…extends decision making so that every volunteer is included. One of
CCA’s greatest strengths is the feedback our state boards provide the
volunteers. Each member is asked how he wants to spend the money he’s
helped raise.”
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2. Where
does my membership and/or fundraiser contribution go?
“A majority of the membership contribution goes
into publishing and distributing (the bimonthly membership magazine)
TIDE, maintaining a
membership department, paying for our annual audit, and supporting our
federal lobbyist in Washington, D.C.,” explains Fondren. “The remaining
money is returned to the state it came from, where it is supplemented by
funds raised through dinners, auctions, and angling tournaments. The
combined total then pays for that state’s lobbyist, local conservation
projects, and operating expenses.”
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3. Does
CCA employ biologists?
Yes. CCA
employs Gulf and Atlantic fisheries consultants to
monitor key recreational issues on national and regional levels.
Additionally, a number of CCA state chapters employ biologists to deal
with state fishery issues. CCA relies on data from state
and federal sources, but has supported and
funded research (on both a state and national level) to provide greater
insight into marine resource issues and problems.
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4. Does
CCA employ lobbyists?
Yes. CCA has a registered lobbyist in Washington,
D.C., and we currently retain as many as 17 state and federal
professional lobbyists.
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5. How
do I find out what CCA is doing to conserve marine resources
legislatively and in the fisheries management arena?
There are several sources to find out CCA’s
legislative involvement on both a state and federal level. Review
TIDE Magazine TIDE-Bits and your CCA state publication for bimonthly state updates.
The Advocacy section of the CCA national webpage and TIDE feature articles, national
TIDE-Bits and columns are great sources for timely national updates.
For updates on Atlantic fisheries issues, go to the
CCA ASMFC tab
of the
website.
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6. Where
do I get useful CCA state numbers?
Go to the
Chapters section of
the national webpage. There is a listing for each state website and
office.
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7. I
signed up a while ago. Where is my membership package?
Depending on processing time and the post office
delivery schedule, arrival of membership packages varies. If you have
waited more than eight weeks and received no correspondence, call
1-800-201-3474.
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8. What
does the legal defense fund do?
The legal defense fund (LDF) was established to
keep the concerns of CCA’s membership represented in critical marine
resource conservation issues. “The LDF has given CCA the ability to add
the courts as places to promote conservation and the interests of
recreational anglers,” said Bob Hayes, CCA’s general counsel. “If you
are not willing to defend good conservation in court, you are wasting
your time trying to get good conservation decisions.”
With the help of the LDF, CCA’s voice grows louder
in the continued legal battle for proper conservation. CCA’s legal
counsel has used these funds to challenge threats to overfished red
snapper, weakfish, marlin, and shark stocks, implement and maintain
critical bycatch reduction measures in the Gulf and Atlantic, and combat
destructive commercial fishing gear. You can
make your tax-deductible contribution via the webpage (go to the
JOIN CCA icon) or call 1-800-201-FISH.
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9. How
can I help CCA?
The best way any member can help is to get involved
on a local level. Call your state CCA office and ask for a contact
number for the volunteer or director in charge of a chapter near you and
its meeting schedule. If there is not a local chapter, ask what you can
do to start one.
Through local fundraising events, membership
meetings and fishing tournaments, CCA state chapters plant their grass
roots. This process enables you to become involved in the mechanism
that makes CCA so successful on a local, state, and national level.
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