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Clean water leads to abundant sea life and most fishing captains are conscientiousness about doing their part to protect and maintain the water that nurtures their livelihood. Last year, a group of Southwest Florida captains took that objective to the next level. Capt. Chris Wittman and Capt. Daniel Andrews founded “Captains for Clean Water,” a 501(c)3 organization as a way to provide a voice for our community, and to help save our deteriorating estuaries. “We’re focusing on being an active educational group,” Wittman said. “ We work with scientists, policy makers an other stakeholders to fight for a long-term solution to the Lake Okeechobee discharges.” By Sue Erwin Photos courtesy of Captains for Clean Water Members of the organization give informational talks to groups throughout Florida. Within a month after creating the Facebook page, they had more than 10,000 followers. They currently have nearly 70,000. Members of the organization also made a series of Public Service Announcement videos that play on many local television networks and radio stations. The first 30-second video they posted on Facebook had more than 500,000 views just a few hours later. “Our economy and our way of life all revolve around our eco-systems – if we don’t have healthy water, clean beaches and the fish aren’t


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