| 1.
How are CCA’s political, fisheries and legislative positions
established?
2. Where does my membership and/or fundraiser contribution go?
3. Does CCA employ biologists?
4. Does CCA employ lobbyists?
5. How do I find out what CCA is doing to conserve marine resources
legislatively and in the fisheries management arena
6. I signed up a while ago. Where is my membership package?
7. What does the legal defense fund do?
8. 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 30 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.” back
to top
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.” back to top
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. back to top
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. back to top
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. back to top
6. 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.
back to top
7. What does
the Advocacy Fund do?
The Advocacy Fund was established to keep the concerns of CCA’s
membership represented in critical marine resource conservation
issues. “The Fund 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 Advocacy Fund, 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. back to top
8. 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. back to top |
