Magellan’s new shirt series, designed by Florida artist K.C. Scott, includes shirts suitable for dockside parties as well as for hard-core angling action.
By Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com
Most saltwater anglers are already aware of the good works the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) has done over the past 50 years in preserving fisheries and acting as the voice of sportfishers nationwide.
From putting an end to gill-netting seatrout and redfish in Texas and Florida to protecting baitfish populations off Louisiana and Virginia to financing artificial reef placement in a multitude of states, the CCA has been there. The group has paid for over 50 artificial reefs in Louisiana alone in recent years.
It’s primarily a volunteer non-profit organization, with barebones paid staff in each coastal state. And anytime there are sportfish issues in front of any state or federal fishery commission, a CCA representative is there to promote the sporting anglers’ interests.
The group has some 126,000 members in 19 states currently. There are some 11 million coastal anglers in the U.S., so there’s definitely room for the CCA to grow. But it needs a little help from conservation-oriented business to continue to make things happen, as well.
Multiple businesses including AFTCO, Duke Energy, Shell Oil, Mossy Oak and others have provided financial assistance. The latest to step up is Magellan Outdoors, a subsidiary of Academy Sports & Outdoors, sponsoring the CCA fishing shirt line to be sold at bargain-basement prices.
The shirts, available in both on-the-water and dockside styles, are made of the same premium stretch fabrics as shirts that go for $75 bucks—but they’re priced at less than half as much. Seriously—there are T-shirts that cost more than this stuff—short sleeved collared print casual shirts for about $26, long-sleeved hoodies for about $30.
They have a UV protection factor of 50—pretty much total sunblock—and they’re light, stretchy stuff that’s comfortable enough for all day wear.
And most have various fishing themes in the prints, as well as a subtle CCA logo on the chest.
Some of the funds from sale of the Magellan shirt line by Academy Sports and Outdoors will go to CCA’s reef building programs.
And most importantly, a portion of the price of each shirt goes to the CCA’s Building Conservation Trust, which is used for reef building, marsh construction and other programs designed to improve the habitat that ultimately improves coastal fishing.
The CCA uses its Building Conservation Trust to facilitate reef building programs in various states, like Maryland's reef ball building program. CCA's state chapters, such as CCA Florida and CCA Louisiana, partner with BCT and other organizations to deploy these reefs.
CCA Louisiana has built numerous reefs, including the "Theophile's Reef" and the Ted Beaullieu, Sr. Reef, with funding from BCT and other sources.
CCA Maryland uses a mobile reef ball building trailer to engage students in hands-on STEM programs, building reef balls for deployment in areas with degraded habitat.
Magellan shirts are available in hoody styles with a high UPF to protect against sunburn and keep anglers cool all day.
The reefs, usually deployed on otherwise barren sand or mud bottom, form the basis of the marine food chain—small corals and shellfish attach first, drawing small fish, which in turn draw larger fish, which in turn bring gamefish to the locations that formerly were unproductive. The reefs not only enhance recreational fishing and diving but also contribute to fisheries productivity overall.
To learn more about the program visit https://www.joincca.org/building-conservation-trust. To see the Magellan CCA line at Academy Sports & Outdoors, visit https://www.academy.com/p/magellan-outdoors-mens-laguna-madre-coastal-conservation-association-artist-series.
