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  4. CCA Texas 2007 Year in Review

CCA Texas 2007 Year in Review

CCA Texas
CCA Texas 2007 Year in Review

As 2007 comes to a close, CCA Texas would like to thank all the members, sponsors, supporters and especially all the volunteers that have worked so hard to make 2007 a great year. 2007 has been a year of record fundraising, an all-time high membership in excess of 54,000, continued chapter growth, hard fought battles on the legislative front and continued funding of essential projects and research.

CCA Texas membership and fundraising banquets enjoyed another great year due to a tremendous effort of local volunteers, supporters and donors. Your support and donations are the fuel that keeps CCA Texas on the move. Along with a great year in fundraising, CCA Texas's membership experienced continued growth to reach a new high at over 54,000. This growth was the result of increased renewals, new members and STAR tournament entries. Chapter growth continued in 2007 with a new chapter being formed in East Bernard, the San Bernard chapter, and the restart of the Woodlands chapter.

CCA Texas continues to fight the good fight to conserve our coastal resources for future generations on a legislative level and for resource related projects. You dollars spent at events and donated directly to CCA are crucial in the success of CCA Texas. Legislative battles continue to be fought in Texas on fresh water inflows, LNG projects, inland fisheries issues, offshore fisheries issues, habitat enhancement and law enforcement. Projects in 2007 include the continued support of TPWD game wardens with enforcement equipment, habitat restoration projects, research and education grants, and fisheries management.

Without you, the member, sponsor, donor, volunteer and supporter, this great success would not be possible. From the volunteer leadership and staff of CCA Texas have a great holiday season and wonderful fishing.

Did You Know
in 2007 CCA Texas on a state and national level ......

  • Completed the final funding of the $700,000 CCA Texas Laboratory for Marine Larviculture at University Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, Texas. Officials and guests from CCA Texas and UTMSI attended the grand opening ceremony on August 17, 2007.
  • Completed the final funding for a $200,000 commitment to the Texas Parks Wildlife Department shrimp license buy-back program. This commitment accounted for over 40 licenses and helped move the bay shrimping industry closer to the optimum size desired by TPWD.
  • Funded over $52,779 in enforcement equipment for TPWD game wardens.
  • Established a graduate level scholarship at Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a $40,000 endowment. This scholarship is in addition to existing graduate scholarships at Texas A&M College Station, Texas A&M Galveston and University Texas Marine Science Institue, Port Aransas.
  • Established an outdoor journalist scholarship at University of Texas Austin with a $40,000 endowment in memory of Bob Brister, a long time supporter and voice of CCA Texas in the early years of the organization.
  • Funded $37,000 for a red snapper mortality study in the recreational sector
  • Funded $35,000 to the Bahia Grande project in the Lower Laguna Madre for the excavation of internal connecting channels within the revitalized estuary project. This is in addition to an original grant of $60,000 in 2005.
  • Funded $32,000 for a study on the effects of the possible closing of the Port Mansfield channel. This study, to be completed by Dr. Greg Stunz, will look at the entire ecosystem and how a total closure might affect it.
  • Funded $32,000 for calorimeter equipment to study the diet of hatchery fingerlings and how to better optimize the fingerlings diets for fast growth and survivorship.
  • Funded $20,000 for phase one of at triple tail study to develop the best methods for sexing these fish and eventually how to hatchery spawn the fish.
  • Funded $20,000 towards the Sportsman's Road marsh revitalization project in partnership with the Galveston Bay Foundation and other organizations.
  • Funded $17,400 for navigation equipment aboard TPWD research vessels.
  • Funded $16,000 for an otolith saw for TPWD coastal fisheries research. This saw will open the "story" behind the life of fish being studied.
  • Funded $13,875 for pumps and other equipment needed by TPWD hatcheries in their efforts to spawn and release flounder.
  • Granted $11,260 towards the Texas A&M intern program for marine biology.
  • Funded an additional $7,500 to TPWD law enforcement for range finders giving better enforcement advantages to the wardens.
  • Funded an additional $7,500 to TPWD law enforcement for generators to help aid in law enforcement in remote areas.
  • Funded $6,000 to the annual crab trap cleanup project.