The CCA Redfish. Their Symbol Exposed

In only two years, 1983-1984, the recreational sector caught 368,352 more pounds of redfish than the entire nine year commercial catch from 1980-1988.

Be Sure To Check Out the Facts At the End Of This Post.

If you are alert, you've seen the CCA symbol plastered everywhere. I've seen them on trucks, cars, and boats.

What the average fisherman doesn't know is that this supposedly "grass roots" organization is actually heavily financed by money from big oil. But that is a story for another day. On to the redfish.

For years, I've been listening to the CCA Lobbyist, Ted Forsgren (Pictured Above), boast about how his organization, the CCA "saved the redfish" from the greedy, wretched commercial fishermen.

I'd been so busy fighting against Ted and the CCA's attempt to destroy "Constitutional Due Process" and "Equal Protection of the Law," that I didn't have time to research the facts about the Florida redfish.

Well, at the last FWC meeting in Destin I finally had enough after listening to Ted and his buddies boast about how they saved the redfish from destruction by stopping "commercial interests" that were wiping out the stock. (Or the non-fishing public's consumption in clearer terms.)

One fool in particular, from the CCA, agitated me to no end. This excruciatingly annoying guy, from Martin County, told the commission how in the 1980's the commercial fishermen devastated the redfish in the river where he allegedly fished... And that they hadn't come back to full scale since.

Really??? I thought to myself? I fished there in the 1970's, 80's and 90's and NEVER caught a redfish. Not being one to fly off the handle without consulting others, I asked several commercial fishermen how many redfish they caught in the river back when net fishing was allowed? Their answer was, "what redfish?"

I then thought to myself, "redfish," hmmm... They were everywhere else around the state when the commercial harvest was restricted. In fact, it was a chore in many areas to avoid catching redfish because they would be running around everywhere you looked!

Ahhhh!... I remembered... There was a big scandal at the MFC. Years ago the MFC was caught doctoring the redfish statistics which resulted in the redfish being taken away from the commercial sector... And even though it was proven that the MFC data was falsified, the commercial sector was never allowed to harvest them again.

No loss... The redfish was never a fish house favorite, or a profitable fish, because the yield of the meat was so low. Commissioner Huffman touched on that exact same fact in the Destin FWC meeting when he complained that a good size redfish didn't even feed him and his wife.

Being fully aware of how Ted's CCA operates and knowing that they admit that "demonizing" people is OK to get what they want (National Fishermen 2006), I decided to do a statewide research into the CCA's claim of having saved the redfish from destruction by the evil commercial fishermen.

True to form, the CCA's version of what happened and the facts tell a completely different story. Surprised? You shouldn't be. If you take the time to actually research what Ted and his organization have spouted year after year, you'll find discrepancy after discrepancy. But that's what Ted relies on... "Sheeple" and/or Koolaid Drinkers. Those who are too lazy to do the research for themselves.

At Fishing For Freedom, we don't deceive. And as always, we provide the FACTS and tell you where they came from. We have always issued the challenge to the CCA members to demand proof from us about every word we print. Several have taken us up on the challenge, and none have ever left without the proof.

The following FACTS about redfish were obtained from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Compare the years and the weights. Surprised? If you know how the CCA operates, you shouldn't be. FFF

Commercial Catch

Recreational Catch

According to the FWC, 1982 was the first full year the statistics were tracked on the redfish.

Questions??? Contact us!