CCA Texas Ends 2024 by Funding Over $1.24 Million for Conservation Efforts

CCA Texas’ Executive Board closed out 2024 by funding over $1.24 million for conservation efforts on the Texas coast. CCA’s ability to fund conservation efforts is a direct result of the strength of the local chapters and volunteer efforts. These chapters and volunteers stepped up to the forefront to help make a difference up and down the Texas coast.

$110,215 TPWD Coast Fisheries Interns - CCA Texas has helped fund the summer internship program for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division for over 15 years. The Executive Board approved funding for $110,215 for the 2025 year. This funding will help provide the necessary funds for fourteen interns. These interns work closely with TPWD staff in the coastal fisheries ecosystem offices and hatcheries, gaining valuable experience and the opportunity for TPWD to work with potential future employees. Over the years, the original funding for four interns in 2009, has now grown to seventeen coastal fisheries interns. Many of these summer interns have eventually gone on to work for TPWD in the Coastal Fisheries Division.

$15,600 TPWD Game Warden Interns - In addition to funding interns for TPWD Coastal Fisheries, CCA Texas has nearly a decade of funding TPWD Game Warden Interns also. In the November Executive Board meeting, funding in the amount of $15,600 was approved for six Game Warden interns in 2025. Like the Coastal Fisheries interns, this funding allows potential future Game Wardens to work closely with wardens up and down the coast, and for TPWD to work with potential wardens of the future. These interns’ experience gives them great experience for their resumes if they apply for the Texas Game Warden Academy in the future.

$51,004 TPWD Game Warden Equipment in Region IV

Texas Game Wardens are the front line to the protection of our Texas coastal and inland resources. Wardens rely on organizations like CCA, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation's (TPWF) Gear Up for Game Wardens, and other organizations to help supplement the necessary funding for equipment necessary in doing their jobs. CCA Texas has a long and proud history of supporting Texas Game Wardens. This funding includes:

• $5,070 for the conversion of one Mercury Verado 300 HP motor from a dual motor SafeBoat to a 25’ single motor patrol unit to be used in Brazoria and Matagorda counties. Budget constraints limit the ability to repower patrol vessels in a timely manner and this conversation will bridge that timing gap.
• $5,639 for eight Airboat Communication Headsets. Four new airboats were recently acquired and will be used for resource patrols and disaster response efforts. These resource patrols include enforcement in shallow marshes for commercial oystering and shrimping, recreational fisheries enforcement, waterfowl, and environmental issues. These headsets will provide Wardens a necessary communication system onboard while protecting them from the noise of the airboats.
• $8,400 for handheld thermal imagers. These thermal imagers are necessary tools for Texas Game Wardens to use for resource protection, water safety, and search and rescue. It is a common practice for those who violate resource laws to do so during the cover of night. This equipment allows the wardens to more easily detect illegal practices by the commercial fishing industry for flagrant violations such as shrimping, crabbing and oystering at night. With the thermal imagers, heat signatures of a boat can be detected up to a mile away, even in the darkest of nights. These imaging devices are also critical pieces of equipment in search and rescue efforts in the middle of the night. These imagers will be used primarily in Jefferson and Orange counties.
• $30,767 for a Matrice M30T Drone. The Matrice M30T Drone will greatly enhance Texas Game Wardens ability to patrol the Gulf of Mexico and Texas bays for commercial and recreational fisheries enforcement. With its ability to cover large distances and capture high quality aerial footage, the drone will provide a bird’s eye view of activities in the patrol area. This will allow Game Wardens to respond more quickly and effectively to potential illegal activities in a patrolled area. This drone will also be equipped with a thermal camera to use in search and rescue operations as well. This equipment will be used primarily in Region 4 Gulf of Mexico and Bays.

$200,000 ($50,000 Annually) Operational Funding for Sink Your Shucks

In 2009, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (HRI) created the Sink Your Shucks Program. This program has reclaimed and recycled over 3 million pounds of oyster shell since its creation, representing more than 45 acres of restored oyster reef in Texas waters. More than 2,000 community volunteers have participated in reef restoration events; and community events and school programs have engaged more than 5,000 citizens annually. CCA Texas’ funding will cover the remaining necessary funds not covered by an existing NOAA grant or charitable contributions for the next four years.

$40,000 Packery Flats at Kate’s Hole Parking Area Living Shoreline

The Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP) is currently developing a living shoreline that will protect the public access parking area and create habitat at the Kate’s Hole parking area. These funds will be used with $60,000 from the CITGO Caring for Our Coast program to enhance and protect this area.

$75,000 Kid’s Fishing Pier at the CCA Marine Development Center

This funding will replace the old Kid Fishing Pier at the CCA Marine Development Center (MDC) in Corpus Christi. This pier is used for community events and outreach activities held by the CCA MDC. This rebuild will take place in 2025.

$750,000 Mark W. Ray CCA Texas Endowed Directorship of the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation Harte Research Institute Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

CCA Texas has been a long-time supporter of Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation (CSSC) Harte Research Institute (HRI) Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Previous support from CCA has allowed CSSC to be very proactive, positioning the CSSC as the ‘go-to’ source for those seeking scientific information and advice regarding the management and sustainability of our saltwater recreational fisheries. This meaningful partnership promotes healthy and sustainable sportfish populations, ensuring long-term and robust recreational fisheries for future generations.

This $750,000 endowed gift from CCA will be equally matched, by an anonymous donor, to establish a $1.5 million permanent fund designated toward the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation. This fund named, “The Mark W. Ray CCA Texas Endowed Directorship of the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation,” will be used to directly and solely support sportfish research and conservation.

This endowed gift offers financial security, stability, and the ability for CSSC to pursue long-term objectives such as groundbreaking research, conservation engagement, or other impactful initiatives without relying solely on fluctuating external funding availability – one of the current greatest challenges for CSSC! This gift would empower the CSSC with freedom to dream big, take calculated risks, foster innovation, and rapidly progress in the recreational fisheries arena. Over time, as this endowed fund grows, the impact multiplies and leaves an undeniable and perpetual mark on conservation and recreational fishing. The power of this gift lies in its ability to transform the Sportfish Center’s aspirations into reality and to leave a legacy that enriches sportfishing in Gulf of Mexico.

CCA Texas is excited to be a funding partner in this endowed partnership in honor of Mark W. Ray and looks forward to seeing the future efforts of CSSC.