Contender Boats and the Center for Sportfishing Policy share the same belief: you can’t protect the fish without protecting the right to fish them.
Fisheries issues are complex, but CSP’s mission is simple, maximize opportunity for saltwater recreational anglers. They’ve been fighting that battle since 2006, and Contender is proud to stand alongside them as a Sustaining Partner.
They show up in Washington so you can show up offshore.
The Center for Sportfishing Policy—CSP for short—is the nation’s leading advocate for saltwater recreational anglers. Founded in 2006, their entire reason for existing is to make sure that America’s 15 million marine recreational anglers have a seat at the table when federal fisheries management decisions get made.
Their own words say it best: CSP “organizes, focuses and engages recreational fishing stakeholders to speak with one voice to shape federal marine fisheries management policies.”
Notice how they said “one voice.” Because the forces working against recreational anglers are organized, well-funded, and deeply entrenched, and they all draw from outdated federal policies, misallocated catch shares, and data systems built for commercial fishing that have no business managing recreational seasons.
CSP does the unglamorous work of turning conservation goals into federal policy. They meet with Members of Congress, sit across the table from NOAA officials, and push for policy changes that put more fish in recreational boats responsibly.
Protecting your waters means fighting for them.
If you’ve been paying attention to the regulatory landscape over the past few years, you know about the proposed North Atlantic Right Whale vessel speed rule. A 2022 proposal would have forced small recreational boats to 10 knots across much of the East Coast for months at a time. Recreational fishing in some of the most productive offshore waters in the country would have become nearly impossible for anyone running a typical center console.
CSP was among the leading voices fighting it. They organized stakeholders, submitted formal comments, engaged congressional allies, and kept sustained pressure on the issue alongside a broad industry coalition. In January 2025, NOAA withdrew the rule.
Conservation and access are two sides of the same hook.
Some people treat conservation and access as competing priorities. CSP has been making the case for two decades that protecting the fishery and protecting your right to fish it are the same fight.
America’s 15 million marine recreational anglers support 691,565 jobs and contribute $138 billion in sales impacts to the U.S. economy annually. Recreational fishing accounts for only 2 percent of all finfish harvested nationally. That’s a light environmental footprint with a massive economic one. Anglers fund conservation directly through excise taxes on fishing tackle and boat fuel, license fees, and personal donations to conservation organizations. In 2020 alone, anglers and boaters contributed $649 million in excise taxes for sportfish conservation, boating safety, and habitat restoration.
The CSP is working to bring that important context into federal policy instead of allowing sportfishing to get lumped into the same category as commercial fishing.
Contender’s founder Joe Neber just won CSP’s highest honor.
In May 2026, CSP honored Contender Boats founder and president Joe Neber with the 2026 Eddie Smith Manufacturer of the Year Award, CSP’s highest recognition for excellence in marine innovation, leadership, and conservation.
CSP President Jeff Angers said it plainly: “Joe Neber built Contender Boats with a clear vision — to create offshore fishing boats that could perform in the toughest conditions without compromising quality or fishability. What sets Joe apart is not just what he built, but how he built it: hands-on, detail-driven and never willing to cut corners.”
Joe’s response captured exactly why Contender’s partnership with CSP makes sense:
“The Center for Sportfishing Policy continues to do critical work, but none of it happens without the collective effort of manufacturers, anglers, conservation groups and policymakers all working together. That collaboration is what moves this industry forward, and I’m proud to stand alongside so many who are committed to protecting our fisheries as well as our rights to enjoy them for generations to come.”
We build fishing machines. That only works if there’s fishing.
Contender is a CSP Sustaining Partner because the boat in your slip is only as valuable as the water it has access to.
Shrinking seasons, diminishing access, and outdated policies that put the needs of a commercial fishing industry ahead of 15 million recreational anglers all lead to the same place: a boat with nowhere meaningful to go. CSP understands what Contender has always believed: you can’t separate conservation from access.
Organizations like CSP are doing the necessary work of making sure both survive.
Every Contender is built by people who fish. Our founder fishes. Everyone who designs, engineers, and builds these boats fishes. A Contender without open water and seasons that make sense isn’t living up to what it was built for.
The fish are out there. Help make sure it stays that way.
CSP’s work runs on membership and support from the recreational fishing community. There are four levels of membership—individual anglers can join, and so can corporations and industry partners. Every voice helps.
You can learn more, join, or donate at sportfishingpolicy.com. Their newsletter, The Hook, keeps members up to date on every policy that affects your time on the water.
Every membership is a vote for longer seasons, better access, and a seat at the table where the decisions get made.
