Agree with this ^^^. There is money that was alotted just for this I think it was called 'From rigs to reefs":confused:, well ol politics as usual came in and took some of this money and stuck in the general fund. There is a stink being raised already about this, but it will probably be swept under the rug, just like everything else. Remember when the money generated from the Louisiana Lottery was supposed to go towards education and teachers salaries?:eek::redface:

This issue would probably be something CCA may need to get involved in and may already be, not sure

So what's up with this? Did you get an answer???

Yes I did......

Do you plan on sharing with us Pilgrim's or is it top secret.

Jeremy-

I didn't realize this was you when I first read your email after work on
Friday evening. I apologize that it took me this long to follow up. I hope
you are doing well. I tried calling you a little while ago.

Let me try and answer your questions in order...

Funding for the new Brad Vincent Reef will come from the CCA Building
Conservation Trust along with one-to-one matching funds from The LDWF
Artificial Reef Trust Fund. This is 100% restricted money and can only be
used for reefs- so we are not using money here that could otherwise be put
towards advocacy. The total funding will be $450,000.

10,000 tons of recycled concrete (loaded onto barges) will cost us
$200,000. This price includes a generous in-kind donation from our
materials provider. The transport and deployment of the materials will
cost us $230,000. This also includes a generous amount of in-kind service
from our deployment contractor. We also budgeted $20,000 for follow up
survey work. In all cases, our Habitat Committee volunteers and staff
spend great time and energy finding the best price for the best material
and service. Our volunteers take this very seriously and do an amazing
job getting the absolute most "project for the buck."

As for the protection of this reef and other reefs from commercial
harvest, perhaps you have not seen pending legislation (making its way
through session as we speak) by Representative Hunter Greene (HB 406) that
would make artificial reefs off limits to commercial harvest. As you can
imagine, The CCA Louisiana Government Relations Committee (made up of
volunteers from around the State) has worked closely with the Author and
LDWF to craft this legislation and to monitor it throughout. We feel very
optimistic about it. I did talk about this bill at a LC committee meeting
in February.

As for the oyster tonging bill we worked on with Blade Morrish last year,
I'm sure you know that the bill "morphed" a good bit through session last
year and ended up limiting the number of permits on the Lake to 126. That
is roughly half the number of boats that were oystering Big Lake in 2010.
It also adjusted some language to limit the number of sacks that were
allowed per licensed harvester and per vessel. In other words, while the
bill was not what we originally intended, it has succeeded in
significantly limiting the oyster harvest pressure on the Lake. That said,
our GR committee continues to monitor this ever-evolving situation very
closely and are considering options moving forward. Like you, our goal
here is to protect the resources in that Lake. We will do what it takes
to achieve that goal, and we appreciate your support in helping us get
there.

Please know that you are welcome to call me anytime with questions. My
cell number is *** *** ****.

Hope the fish are biting for you. See you soon.

David

Cool......thanks for the info.

Where is the new Big Lake reef going to be located?

W, I agree with your points. CCA does waste much of its money. I stopped giving mine years ago after meeting with several people that ran CCA. In my little opinion, these CCA executives were getting nice salaries (they kept talking about it), didn't fish that much, and didn't care to fight the battles we care about. Maybe that has changed but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The CCA seems more concerned with making a nice article about creating a reef and then letting it die as the major public didn't notice.

I don't have the knowledge or wallet to start a foundation or association to help protect Big Lake. But I would be first in line to donate money if there is someone or some organization that will make southwest LA a priority.

Well I like the CCA......I voice what I feel I need to and some like it and some don’t but I really don’t care because I just tell it how I see it.

Now that I know the Funds are coming from a Reef Fund I feel a lot better about this project. Do we need extra 20K on future research???? Not really but what do I know I just fish...

Over all CCA has done a great job at getting things done for us as fisherman..... Do I like the BIG MONEY GUYS RUNNING IT as Board Members ...NO I don’t because most never spend any time on our waters to even know what we lack...they go by hearsay and we all have hearsay....

Guides like 15 trout limits because that less time they have on the water..... Smart fisherman know it’s killing our overall size

Board members hear the oyster boats are killing the reefs......Fishermen like myself have gotten out and walked them....and dragged them and watched oyster boats dump shell on banks.....


There is the difference between a guy who sits in an office all day and one who knows W T F is going on

Glad he responded. Good posts W and thanks for reposting your email.

Not trying to argue, but you must realize that when it comes to the 'higher ups' that have all the credentials most of the top execs have, you have to pay for them or else they can easily go into the private sector and make much more money. It would be nice if a Ph.D. researcher who really enjoyed doing what he does went and did all this for $50k/year, but the reality is that when you want the best people, you have to pay for them. Most top execs of non-profit organizations such as CCA, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, etc. are some of the brightest, most informed people there are (they are the best) and to have the best you have to pay for them:)

It seems like they are making SW LA a priority if they are spending money to create an artificial reef?

This future research is probably not what you are thinking it will be. Future research can be just riding out to the reef and checking on it from time to time, taking samples. (This isn't free, there is fuel, supplies, equipment, salaries, etc.), and if they just dumped some concrete in the water and never went back out to check on things, then you would hear people crying about that:work: and this way they can monitor the production of the reefs so when someone asks 'what good are these things anyway' they can at least show some data to back it up, and if the data suggests that the reefs are doing something, then more funding may come along and more artifiical reefs built that can't be harvested and before long everyone lives happily ever after:)

^^^^^^^+1

SB 406 will makes it illegal to oyster any artificial reefs. It will pass without governor Jindal's signature making it a law. Now, if the state will fly drones over those reefs, we might be able to make sure the oystermen stay off them.

So, Jindal is not signing the bill?

Technicality, it still becomes law if he doesn't sign it. A political way to endorse but not endorse with signature. Yep, confuses me also but in the end, we get protection.

Great

HB 406 was signed by the governor.

Greene (HB 406) Act No. 84
New law authorizes the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, with recommendations by the
La. Oyster Task Force, to establish recreational reefs and promulgate rules for the location
of such reefs, materials to be used on such reefs, and regulations for fishing on or over the
reef, including harvest seasons, times, and creel limits. Prohibits the harvest of oysters from
the reefs.
Provides that violations are class four violations punishable as follows:
1st offense between $400 & $950 or imprisonment for more than
120 days, or both.
2nd offense between $750 & $999 & imprisonment between 90 and
180 days.
3rd or more between $1,000 & $5,000 & imprisonment between 180
days and two years.
Provides forfeiture of anything seized in connection with the violation.
Effective August 1, 2012.
(Adds R.S. 56:805)

It would still be cheaper to drop house blocks on the reefs, game wardens would only be needed to tow the crippled boats to the bank then.