Great turnout for the CCA-MA North Shore Chapter meeting last night in Newburyport.
About 35 folks braved the cold to talk marine fisheries issues and listen to an
informative slide show by Barry Gibson on striper fishing in the Danvers River.
Momentum is continueing to build with CCA-MA, thanks to efforts at the chapter level.
Chapter president Ray Keen gave an update on the 1st annual chapter banquet which was
attended by 75 people and raised over $6000.00. The 2nd annual will be in Nov '98. There
will also be a summer gathering upcoming. The group last night expressed many great ideas
on issues, including continued vigilance on the striper front, concern about factory ships
setting up off Gloucester and the ongoing saga with groundfish. Potential projects such as
river clean ups, fish ladder repairs and restocking the Ipswich River with anadromous fish
like shad and herring. All solid ideas that the chapter will consider. All in all it was
fantastic to see recreational fisherman supporting conservation.
Now we have to keep it going. There are other chapters working hard too. On the South
Shore a meeting is scheduled for next week and the MetroWest chapter will hold a meeting
the following week. Check this forum for more details and consider getting involved. We
desperately need members to strengthen CCA-MA so please consider signing up. Visit our
web page at cca-ma.com for details. It is $25 we should all be willing to spend. We all
need to collectively be represented and listened to and that is CCA-MA's mission: to
protect marine resources for recreational fisherman. Please join us and show us your support.
Last note: the CCA-MA 5th annual state banquet is April 3rd in Needham at the Sheraton.
Always a fun night with loads of great items and guided trips up for grabs. Look here soon
for more details on tickets.