AFTCO’s dedication to conservation is rooted in responsibility, not marketing. AFTCO Chairman Bill Shedd has donated over 15,000 hours to conservation projects and advocacy across the country. Each year additional AFTCO employees donate hundreds of hours towards conservation projects in saltwater and freshwater, advocacy and research. Together with our conservation partners, AFTCO works to address some of the most pressing needs facing our waters and the fish that inhabit them.

Since 1973, AFTCO has worked to protect saltwater species and the habitat they rely on. Together with our partners we have helped provide funding and leadership for saltwater habitat and hatcheries, pass key conservation legislation, and worked to popularize and promote research-based tagging efforts. From the fight for clean water to growing legislative complexities, we're inspired to work alongside the next generation of recreational anglers to leave the ocean better than we found it.

AFTCO, like our founding Chairman Milt Shedd, has never shied away from a good fight. We work to provide on-the-ground support, time, and funding to advocacy partners working towards legislative victories. Through partnerships with recreational fishing advocates, AFTCO has helped to eliminate gillnets off the California coastline, worked to pass and promote appropriate regulation, and helped eliminate destructive industrial fishing practices.

We believe our country's outdoor heritage is worth protecting. AFTCO supports recreational fishing access and policies that provide recreational outdoor exposure to all citizens. Through fishing license sales, federal excise taxes on fishing equipment and fuel, and direct donations, anglers collectively contribute nearly $1.5 billion annually to fund fisheries conservation! We are committed to supporting organizations that give a voice to rights of those anglers.