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

By John Blaha, Director of Habitat

CCA Texas’ Executive Board closed out 2024 by funding over $1.24 million for conservation efforts on the Texas coast. The ability to fund these important conservation efforts is directly attributed to the strength of our local chapters and their volunteer efforts. They stepped up in a BIG way to make a difference up and down the Texas coast.

$110,215: TPWD Coastal 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 2025. 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 while also providing TPWD with the opportunity to work with potential future employees. In the beginning, the original funding covered four interns in 2009 and has now grown to fourteen 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 funded TPWD Game Warden Interns for nearly a decade as well. At the November Executive Board meeting, $15,600 in funding was approved for six Game Warden interns in 2025. Like the Coastal Fisheries interns, this funding enables these interns to work closely with Game Wardens all along the coast while also providing TPWD with the opportunity to work with potential future game wardens. This program provides these interns with invaluable experience to put on their resumes should they apply for the Texas Game Warden Academy down the line.

$51,004: TPWD Game Warden Equipment in Region IV

Texas Game Wardens are on the front lines protecting our Texas coastal and inland resources and they 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 needed to do their jobs. CCA Texas has a long and proud history of supporting our Texas Game Wardens. This funding includes:

• $5,070 to convert one Mercury Verado 300 HP motor from a dual motor SafeBoat to a 25’ single motor patrol unit for use in Brazoria and Matagorda counties. Budget constraints limit the ability to repower patrol vessels in a timely manner and this conversion 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 with 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 resource protection, water safety, and search and rescue. It is common practice for those who violate resource laws to do so during the cover of night. This equipment enables the wardens to more easily detect illegal practices by bad actors in the commercial fishing industry including flagrant violations such as shrimping, crabbing, and oystering at night. With these thermal imagers, heat signatures of a boat can be detected up to a mile away even on the darkest of nights. These imaging devices are also critical in search and rescue efforts in the middle of the night. They will be used primarily in Jefferson and Orange counties.
• $30,767 for a Matrice M30T Drone. The Matrice M30T Drone will greatly enhance their 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 them 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 the Gulf of Mexico and Bays of Region IV.

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

In 2009, the 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 shells 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 at 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 for Gulf of Mexico (HRI) and Texas Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

CCA Texas has been a long-time supporter of the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation (CSSC) at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Previous support from CCA has allowed CSSC to be 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 longterm 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 will empower the CSSC with the 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 CSSC’s aspirations into reality and to leave a legacy that enriches sportfishing in the 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.