Advocacy

Water Quality
Water quality remains one of CCA Florida’s highest priorities. The impacts of poor water quality across the state affect residents, sportsmen, tourism, local businesses, and, most importantly, our estuaries and ecosystems. Recognizing these challenges, we remain vigilant in driving progress in this critical area.

The State of Florida has allocated substantial funding for impactful projects targeting our most affected regions, including North and South Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River Basin, the St. Johns River Basin, Apalachicola Bay, Indian River Lagoon, Florida Bay, and the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). These areas are at critical stages of restoration, and efforts are beginning to show promising results. With key projects under evaluation, design, construction, and nearing completion, CCA Florida is actively engaged with stakeholders to ensure these initiatives prioritize the health of our natural resources and water quality improvement.

We are closely monitoring water management across these regions. New reservoirs and stormwater treatment systems are expected to come online in 2024 and 2025, with more projects on the horizon. CCA Florida maintains open communication with various water management districts, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and water quality managers to assess the positive impacts of these efforts. We are optimistic about continued advancements in water conservation and treatment, which are crucial for improving the health of our estuaries statewide.

Addressing wastewater collection and treatment—particularly septic-to-sewer conversion programs in municipalities—remains a top priority. While record budget allocations have accelerated infrastructure construction and maintenance, significant progress is still needed to enhance wastewater management across the state.

CCA Florida remains a steadfast advocate for new and ongoing projects, funding expansions for wastewater systems, and broader water quality education. With Florida’s diverse natural water resources, our collective responsibility will drive continued success in this vital area.

Fisheries
• Advocating for State Management: CCA Florida continues to push for increased state management due to uncertainties surrounding NOAA’s gag grouper data in the Gulf.
• Improving Fisheries Data: We are calling for better data collection as NOAA announces a dismal 1-day South Atlantic red snapper season.
• Celebrating Red Snapper Seasons: CCA Florida joined Governor DeSantis to announce the 103-day Gulf red snapper season.
• Collaborating on Exempted Fishing Permits: Working with FWC and other groups, we helped create an exempted fishing permit for South Atlantic red snapper.
• Protecting Marine Ecosystems: CCA Florida is working to stop NOAA’s plan for pelagic longlining off the Southeast coast.
• Opposing Federal Overreach: We oppose NMFS’ push for South Atlantic bottom closures and advocate for state management. Additionally, we rejected the proposal for Federal Snapper Grouper permits in the South Atlantic, emphasizing that state administration would create better checks and balances in data collection.
• Defending Against Speed Zones: CCA Florida worked with other organizations to oppose right whale slow speed zones. NOAA has since rejected the petition for these zones.

Restocking Success

In partnership with the Duke Energy Mariculture Center, CCA Florida has successfully restocked over 210,000 trout and 400,000 redfish. We’ve also added tripletail to our enhancement program, furthering our commitment to marine conservation and sustainability.