Get outside and help clean up your local waterway or community!

by Jocelyn Fillius
Coastal Conservation Association Maryland (CCAMD) Seasonal Assistant & Lead of Chesapeake Clean-Up Week

In partnership with the iAngler Tournament cellphone app, anglers (and all others) are being encouraged to photograph and track litter picked up shoreside or aboard a boat. Normally the app is used by anglers competing in fishing tournaments.

This CCAMD litter pickup challenge has been extended to this Sunday, August 9. Get your photos in so you can be at the top of the litter “leaderboard!”

This event runs through the iAngler app just like a fishing tournament, but instead of submitting fish, you submit a photo of your “catch” of trash! The more trash photos you submit, the greater your chances of winning prizes including CCA Maryland stainless drinkware, shirts, and hats. And one lucky CCA Maryland member who participates will win an Engel Backpack Cooler!

What better time than summer to get out there and celebrate all that the Chesapeake Bay has to offer? We are looking forward to working with all of you to help clean-up our watershed and Bay!

This is a good way to keep social distancing and yet do some good for our waterways. It’s natural for anglers and boaters to be concerned about litter in our waterways and to do their part to help. In fact, with this app, we can all get outside to do our bit with social distancing.

Anyone picking up litter anywhere should wear gloves and carefully dispose of what is picked up. There have been many reports of potentially contaminated litter made up of wipes, gloves and masks.

Read more in Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s Bay Bulletin and watch CCAMD’s video.

For those who don’t know, Coastal Conservation Association Maryland is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Maryland’s Marine Resources. Founded in 1995 and one of 19 state chapters of the national CCA organization, we work with over 1,500 members, including recreational anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, to conserve, enhance and promote marine resources and coastal environments in Maryland. A membership is not required to participate in our event but please JOIN CCA TODAY!

Find out more about the litter “tournament” on the iAngler website.