Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) was among several prominent marine conservation, boating and tackle industry associations gathered to announce the creation of the Center for Coastal Conservation (the Center) at the ICAST show in Las Vegas last week. The Center has been built to participate directly in elective politics and promote the conservation ideals of recreational angling to the lawmakers who make many of the key decisions in fisheries management.
“The groups and individuals involved in the Center have achieved significant conservation victories on their own for decades,” said CCA President David Cummins. “The Center will merge their strengths into a single, formidable force that is unlike anything we have seen in this arena before.”
The Center officially launched in October of 2006 and has been steadily growing in size and scope under the guidance of a board of directors made up of representatives from leading industry groups and renowned advocates for marine resource conservation, including several key founders of CCA.
“The Center brings together a very high level of expertise and experience, all focused on being the political arm of marine conservation,” said Jefferson Angers, president of the Center. “This is a coalition of people driven to succeed and who know how to get things done. The Center itself may be new, but it is already well-equipped to navigate the political process to promote good stewardship of America’s marine resources.”