CCA Maine

The following notice was issued recently by Maine DMR. CCA-Maine, as well as other CCA state chapters and the national organization, campaigned vigorously in favor of reducing the harvest of menhaden.

Notice

Friday, April 19^th from 6 – 9pm, The Dolphin Marina and Restaurant will be featuring America’s Two Man Outlaw Country Band, North of Nashville, featuring Jay Basiner and Andrew Martelle, also of THIS WAY, an alt-country band from Maine nominated for ‘Best Folk, Country and Roots Act’ at the 2012 New England Music Awards. North of Nashville was recently named ’2013 Band to Watch’ by Portland Press Herald.  Visit www.dolphinmarinaandrestaurant.com for more info.

Saturday, April 20^th, The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation is holding its annual GEAR GRAB community shoreline cleanup in Harpswell (rain date on Sunday). Meet at Interstate Lobster or BIGS on Bailey Island at 8:00 AM for last minute instructions, donuts, coffee, and GEAR GRAB garb t-shirts. After cleanup, all volunteers are invited for a complimentary picnic lunch and prizes hosted by the Dolphin Restaurant at 12:30.

FMI, go to www.geargrab.org

Opening for the Season!    Thursday April 4th

April Hours Thursday – Sunday  11:30 am to 8 pm

Fresh, Local Seafood, Blackboard Specials, Homemade Desserts and Famous Fish Chowder

We will be offering live music through the offseason. Our first scheduled performances from 6-9pm is:  April 13th – Pete Kilpatrick

Basin Point, Harpswell, Pott’s Harbor, Casco Bay  LAT 43.44 N LON 70.02 W

Thank you to all who came out on March 15^th to support the 2^nd Annual Maine Striper Sessions, a folk-rock concert to help raise money to conserve Maine’s marine resources at Port City Music Hall.  There was a terrific turnout (over 300 tickets were sold) and everyone enjoyed  listening to the music of The Pete Kilpatrick Band and Ryan Wimbish.  Special thanks to these musicians who volunteered to help send CCA-Maine’s message  to study, clean up and protect our precious marine resources.

The following sponsors made this event possible and we wish to extend our sincere thanks to them:

• Ace Corporation
• Cabelas
• Casco Bay Anglers Club
• CBRE, The Boulos Company
• Fly Fishing in Maine
• Gorham Savings Bank
• Infinity Credit Union
• Investment Management & Consulting Group
• MacDonald Page
• Maine Office of Tourism
• Nappi Distributors
• Port City Music Hall
• PrimaLoft
• Pro Search Inc.
• Re/Max By the Bay
• Salt Associates
• Taylor, McCormack & Frame
• VHB, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Rob Evon, owner of Port City Music Hall, so kindly donated the venue for the second year and was presented with a CCA-Maine lifetime membership as a special thanks for  his contributions.

The brainchild for the concert came from CCA board member Adam Taylor, who came up with the idea while jigging for mackerel two summers ago. Thanks to all involved in making this goal of bringing Mainers of all outdoor passions and pursuits together.

Read review by Deirdre Fleming in the Portland Press Herald

The ” 2nd Annual Maine Striper Sessions” with

at Port City Music Hall

Show Time:

Friday, March 15th, 2013 at 7:00pm

Advance Tickets: $15.00

Door: $18.00 – VIP: $30.00

Purchase Tickets Online

Port City Music Hall will host the 2nd Annual Maine Striper Sessions – a unique benefit concert featuring The Pete Kilpatrick Band prior to their national Spring Tour. The band will take the stage at Port City after local recording artist, Ryan Wimbish, plays an opening set.

All proceeds from the concert will benefit Maine’s Coastal Conservation Association, or “CCA”, which is the only grassroots volunteer and nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving Maine’s saltwater sport fishing and marine resources. The Maine Striper Sessions is brought to you by numerous local businesses supportive of CCA’s mission.
We will see you there!

Special Thank You To Our Sponsors:

We have partnered with Karen Talbot Art on a really terrific fundraising initiative. For every purchase of one of Karen’s limited-edition striped bass prints, she will donate $50 to CCA-Maine. Please see more details below, but this is your chance to own a remarkable piece of striped bass artwork, while supporting an organization working hard to make Maine’s precious coastline a better place for all of us.

www.karentalbotart.com

Thank You!

To all of you in attendance at our Annual Meeting on 1/24, thank you for your support. For those who couldn’t be there, it was a terrific evening with fantastic auction/raffle items and the usual incredible food provided by The Harraseeket Inn. The following Board seats were nominated and approved for another term:

Duncan Barnes – Board Chair
Mac McKeever – President
Jeff Verrill – Vice President
Don Russell – Secretary
Dom Vella – Treasurer

Mac McKeever presented a review of CCA-ME’s efforts over the past year (click here to download pdf) and a look forward to areas of focus for 2013.

A brief recap of CCA-ME 2012 efforts:

• Testified in favor of drastic management measures for menhaden at public hearings and in written  statements.
• Advocated for the conservation of striped bass spawning stock biomass in the Kennebec River.
• Involved with four major fundraising events: two concerts with several hundred people in attendance, one tournament and one banquet.
• Worked hard to galvanize existing relationships and establish new ones with organizations such as Maine Rivers, Friends of Casco Bay, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Maine Audubon, Bowdoin, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, L.L.Bean, DMR.
• Invited to participate in an alewife consortium, comprised of several conservational and marine organizations.
• Testified in favor of drafting a resolve to continue consideration for the removal of dams on the Royal River.
• Testified in favor of a new structure to improve fish passage on Sewell Brook.
• Testified in favor of the removal of 24 granite blocks on the Royal River.
• Continue to have a strong lobbying presence in Augusta via Dan Riley.

Our focus for 2013 will include:

• 2nd Annual Maine Striper Sessions benefit concert on March 15th – save that date!
• Striper fishing tournament – details coming.
• Advocating barrier removal on the Royal River.
• Legislative efforts for St Croix fish passage.
• Participation on the Alewife Consortium.
• Continuing our work on preserving and enhancing a variety of forage species.
• Continue to educate anglers with safe catch and release practices.

Thank you to the following donors that helped with the event by donating some great items.
LTs inc.
Fish Art Maine
Fish in the Garden
Dick Anderson
L.L.Bean

The State of Maine, Department of Marine Resources is hosting a public meeting to discuss public concerns over the status of striped bass in Maine. This meeting is intended to discuss issues that recreational anglers, conservation groups, and resource managers believe are important to restore and sustain both native and migratory striped bass populations.

Meeting Date and Location:

February 12 – Tuesday, 6:00pm at the Log Cabin, 196 Main St in Yarmouth, parking is in back.

Also of possible interest is a St. Croix alewive-issue recap for the coming legislative session. You can find more information:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/02/04/nb-maine-gaspereau-debate-810.html

Please join us for CCA-Maine’s annual meeting on Thursday, 1/24/2013 at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport from 5:30 – 7:30.

There will be lots of great raffles (L.L. Bean products, beautiful prints, and fishing gear), complimentary appetizers, and a cash bar.

With the generous support from the Harraseeket Inn, we are offering a chance to win the Perfect Gift Package! A chance at an overnight stay with dinner and champagne at the Harraseeket Inn along with a $50 L.L. Bean Gift Certificate!

Don’t miss out…Join us and help support CCA-Maine, Maine’s largest grassroots, volunteer-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and conserving our precious marine resources.

Please RSVP to carolgay@gwi.net or 207-458-8421