Captain Leiza Fitzgerald Discusses the CCA Florida STAR Competition and its Accomplishments

PartsVu Xchange Talks Boating chats with Captain Leiza Fitzgerald, the CCA Florida STAR Competition Director and creator of the format for Florida STAR, about the organization and its accomplishments. The CCA, Coastal Conservation Association, was created in 1977 and began with just fourteen concerned people. Drastic commercial overfishing along the Texas coast had decimated redfish and speckled trout populations.

Today the organization has over 125,000 members with active chapters in 17 states. The Florida STAR Competition combines technology and the love of fishing with the excitement of winning cash, prizes, and scholarships.

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The Florida STAR Competition isn’t a traditional fishing tournament; how does it work?

Leiza: In 2022, the competition begins the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 28, and runs through Labor Day, ending September 5. That is over a hundred days of fishing. Every fish caught over the summer in Florida waters has the opportunity to provide you with a chance to win your share of half a million dollars in prizes. The key is that you must be a CCA member and registered in the competition to win.

What are the divisions within the CCA Florida STAR Competition?

Leiza: One signature is the Tagged Redfish Division, a division where we tag redfish throughout the coastal waters of Florida; on average, four tagged fish per coastal county. Like Brevard, Citrus, or Charlotte County, some counties have twice the number of tagged fish. If you recapture one of those tagged redfish, you have the opportunity to win either your choice of a brand-new Contender, Pathfinder, or Spyder boat, all valued at over $60,000.

Other signature divisions include the Tigress Outrigger and Gear Tagged Dolphin Division for the offshore angler. The angler who first catches a tagged dolphin after it has been tagged wins either $10,000 in cash for adults or $10,000 in college scholarships.

Our other divisions include inshore, snow trout, grouper, non-tagged redfish, and lionfish. There is something for everyone. Some divisions are designed to gather data for other organizations to use in their conservation programs, so it does not matter the size or species of fish caught. A personal favorite is the Trash Division, which asks both anglers and non-anglers to collect garbage from the waterways and submit every five-gallon bucket collected via our smartphone app. At the end of the competition, we do a random drawing and give away fantastic prizes ranging from sunglasses to a weekend stay in the Florida Keys from our presenting sponsor that includes delicious Papa’s Pilar Rum. The true winner though, is our Florida marine environment.

How does data collected during the CCA Florida STAR competition contribute to CCA Florida’s work?

Leiza: Seven years ago, when I was asked to come on board and implement the STAR competition, I wanted to keep it in line with our mission, which is conservation. This means keeping fish alive, all the while gathering critical data. When entering information about the fish caught through our app, there are dropdowns that will inform us about the size, health, location, where the fish was hooked, whether it was released, and its condition.

This data helps the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the many universities that do white papers and research on, for example, redfish and juvenile trout. Not only that, but the trash division collects data that tells us the type of trash, like plastic, glass, or fishing line. From this data, we can also see where the trash was collected. For bulky items, such as toilets, washing machines, and refrigerators, we can use the supplied GPS coordinates and coordinate with other organizations for pick up and disposal.

Have anglers responded positively to the Trash Division?

Leiza: It gives me goosebumps to talk about because this has been a fantastic tool for parents to teach their kids about conservation. After catching their fish, I’ve seen youth ask their parents to go out and catch some trash. Some children have even sacrificed a day of fishing to spend the day with family and friends collecting trash. Small groups have brought back as many as twenty to thirty big black garbage bags full of trash that they removed from the waterways. Since this division started four years ago, we’ve collected over 7,000 five-gallon buckets full of garbage.

Two amazing participants each have collected over 1,000 buckets on their own. Additionally, every youth angler gets thirty minutes of community service for each five-gallon bucket disposed of properly.

What impact has the Florida STAR competition had on conservation, both from the efforts of adults and youth?

Leiza: We’ve seen the biggest impact on the parents and youth. For students considering college, they have a chance to win one of the scholarships. We give out ten $5,000 and two $25,000 scholarships, totaling $100,000 in scholarships, which has helped parents concerned with the financial aspect of sending their children to college. Doing this has incentivized them to take their children fishing after school and on weekends and allows them to teach them about conservation.

Why encourage catch and release?

Leiza: By encouraging catch and release, large fish will remain in the waterways to spawn more fish, which helps the habitat. For example, the slot size for a redfish is 18 to 27 inches long. We see in the tournament that the majority of fish entered are 25 to 27 inches. When they reach that size, they are mature, spawning fish. When they are released back into the waterway, they have a chance to multiply the entire population. One large fish is a single fish to us, but it could potentially allow the spawning of hundreds of thousands of fish. Besides, smaller fish taste better.

Why is there so much buzz from the marine industry to sponsor the CCA Florida STAR competition?

Leiza: Many large corporations in the industry like West Marine, Contender boats, Pathfinder, Realtree Fishing, Papa’s Pilar Rum, Power Pole, and others have understood that they have a corporate responsibility to take care of our fisheries. If people cannot fish anymore, they will stop using their companies’ products because they will no longer be needed. It’s the right thing to do, and it is good for their businesses.

Are there any other ways you are helping the environment?

Leiza: We have been creating new ways to help, one of which was the Lionfish Division. This division helps remove this invasive species from Florida waterways. It does not matter the size of the fish because all of them qualify. Although beautiful, these fish consume everything in a fishery or estuary and strain the health of the natural habitat.

Visit https://ccaflorida.org/ to learn more about CCA Florida’s coastal conservation work and become a member. It’s also definitely not too late to register for the 2022 STAR competition, which will begin on May 28. 2022.

PartsVu is a proud sponsor of CCA. Recently we sent our lead videographer to capture the redfish release into the Crystal River. Watch here: https://youtu.be/4CMxoRluiNk