September 17, 2015 – “The CCA has nothing to do with conservation unless you consider sport fishermen having all of a certain species allocated to themselves as conservation.”

Those are the words of author Robert Fritchey, who wrote the definitive book tracing the history of the Coastal Conservation Association, titled “Wetland Riders”.

The CCA traces its roots to Texas in 1977 and was originally founded by mostly wealthy anglers in Houston.

Fritchey describes the group as consisting entirely of “about twenty sportsmen, some wealthy, some not” who were convinced commercial fishing was killing sport fishing in Texas bays.

The group of men named their organization the Gulf Coast Conservation Association (GCCA). And it didn’t take long for the wealthier sport fishermen to take over.

Fritchey ticked off the names of those early leaders in the first chapter:

• Walter Foundren III, a Houston oil executive and Exxon heir, was named chair of the Executive Committee.
• Perry R. Bass, another billionaire Texas oilman who in 2005 was rated by Forbes at the 746th wealthiest American, also served on the committee.
• The GCCA’s first president, David Cummings, was a Houston real estate investor.
• The vice president was Clyde Hanks, another wealthy resident of Houston described as an “insurance magnate.”

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice