If you live in Maryland and fish the Chesapeake or coast, you know about the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen’s Association (MSSA). Chances are that you’re a member for a number of reasons, from their local chapter support to the tournaments that they sponsor.
If you live in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Virginia, you probably also know about the organization, as they actually have chapters outside their state and continue to grow. With numbers heading towards 10,000 and continuing to grow, the MSSA is an organization that has become a major force in shaping saltwater fishing in the Mid-Atlantic area.
The history of the MSSA dates back to early December 1980 when Mike Pivec, a 30 year old Towson businessman, part-time charter boat captain and sport fisherman, called his fishing buddy, Tim Fisher, to discuss some ideas concerning fishing. Mike explained to Tim that he had recently gotten back from a striped bass fishing trip to Sante Cooper, South Carolina.
Mike told Tim that “it was absolutely absurd that any Marylander needs to drive 10 hours south, spend inordinate amounts of time and money to catch a fish that we produce in our own Chesapeake Bay.†Mike asked Tim for his help to start an organization that would specifically help protect the rockfish in the state of Maryland and implement measures that would guarantee their survival.
The MSSA was born from that meeting. With the help of local outdoor writers, press releases were issued telling potential members how to join the organization and announcing the first meeting in January 1981.
Since that first meeting of about 150 sport fishermen, the MSSA has grown tremendously over the last 25 years. It is now composed of over 7,000 conservation-minded members. The MSSA has now been recognized as being the “official voice†of the recreational fisherman in Maryland by the General Assembly in Annapolis, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and other state and federal agencies.
Providing a Unified Voice
The mission of the MSSA works to provide a unified voice to preserve and protect the rights of the recreational fishing community, the environment and our marine resources. MSSA has retained the services of a fulltime lobbyist and their legislative committee has helped defeat many harmful bills that would have been detrimental to the recreational angler.
The second and equally important aspect of the MSSA which has allowed it such growth is that the organization provides a tremendous recreational exchange (1) through their bi-monthly publication of Tidelines, and (2) the establishment of local chapters throughout the state.
Tidelines is a publication dedicated exclusively to all aspects of saltwater sport fishing. It is full of fishing information, hotspots and fishing techniques for all types of species either in the bay or ocean. Members look forward to receiving their copy in order to checkout tide tables, how to’s, fishing articles and environmental issues. But, as most of the membership will attest, the grassroots recreational benefit to all MSSA members is at the chapter level.
Local Flavor
Local chapters hold regular monthly meetings for their members and provide expert guest speakers, professional fishing films, fishing contests, and various social activities of interest. MSSA sponsors four major fishing tournaments each year. These tournaments have grown in size and value, returning hundreds of thousands of dollars to the many prizewinners and providing the largest component of MSSA’s revenues.
On the environmental front, MSSA is building artificial fishing reefs throughout the Bay and its tributaries. Several chapters of the MSSA have built reef balls to be placed in strategic locations with hard bottoms. Over 600 of these reef balls have been built and placed in the water to create additional habitat for our marine resources.
Chapters conduct a number of fishing events each year for area youth groups, veteran organizations and other charitable causes. The fishing public is welcomed to visit chapter sponsored flea markets and seminars, and to participate in one day tournaments, crab feasts, and holiday parties. The MSSA chapters provide the first links between recreational fishermen and the headquarters organization. Chapters meet monthly and offer members a varied program of guest speakers, demonstrations, and information sharing about local fishing conditions and techniques.
