Nature deficit & screen time
Half of U.S. teens log four or more hours of daily non-school screen time. Those hours track with higher rates of depression and anxiety. This coast is the antidote sitting in their zip code.
Jupiter, Florida · 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Off screens.
On the water.
The next generation of coastal stewards.
- Middle and high school students on the water
- Monthly after-school programs and tournaments
- Marine biology, water safety, first aid, and ethical angling
- Conservation stewardship and youth development
Foundational partner sponsor
Florida’s first boat builder to get behind these teens.
Calcutta Boats is the foundational partner of Coastal Teen Anglers — the first manufacturer in the state to put a name, a reputation, and a 26-foot Calcutta under this program. This is the boat they learn on. Catch. Release. Repeat.
Captain networkVisitOfficial Captain Network program provider
Chart your course. Learn the wheel.
MYCAPTAIN is the official Captain Network program provider for Coastal Teen Anglers. Tournament days, teams work with vetted charter captains — the same professionals guests book to fish these waters. How a charter actually runs. How the industry works. Conservation built into every trip.
State partnersVisitOfficial state partners
The state’s conservation team, in the program.
Coastal Teen Anglers welcomes the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as an official partner. We are participating in the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network — the statewide program built to raise the next generation that cares. Teens learn boater safety, the rules of the road, conservation, and why boating under the influence is a real danger. A stronger relationship with Florida’s fish and wildlife, and safer teen boaters on the water.
Official sponsorVisitOfficial sponsor
Jupiter-made jigs. Built for the bite.
JYG Pro Fishing is an official sponsor of Coastal Teen Anglers. Slow-pitch jigs and inshore baits built in Jupiter for the same lagoon, inlet, and reef these students will fish. Local tackle. Next-generation anglers.
Official sponsorVisitOfficial sponsor
Beach to blue water. Same standard.
Shore Pro Tackle is an official sponsor of Coastal Teen Anglers. Inshore rods, heavy gear, and terminal tackle built for the Florida coast — the gear that takes a teen from the first cast to the real fish.
Official sponsor
Lure Us In is the company. The Reaper Rig is their product, and it is what these teens use on the boat — a 15-second dead-bait lock. The same system Florida captains already troll for mahi, kings, and wahoo.
One enrollment
Enroll in the program.
Parents sign up once. That puts the teen in Coastal Teen Anglers. We’ll email you what’s coming — education sessions, first-response classes, and tournament days. There is no per-class or per-tournament signup.
Students
40–60
Middle and high school, ages 11–18
Education
8–10
Monthly classroom + field sessions
Events
6–8
Educational tournaments and special days
Marine biology partner
Jupiter’s river, taught where it lives.
The Loxahatchee River Center has teamed up with Coastal Teen Anglers to teach marine biology that belongs to this water — the Loxahatchee, Jupiter Inlet, and the waterways in between. Their building in Burt Reynolds Park is a classroom for the program: live tanks from cypress swamp to the reef, boater safety, and the rest of what these teens need before they step on a boat.
lrdrivercenter.org
The building
The exhibits
The tanks
Program educators
Odyssey First Response
Jupiter and North Palm Beach first-response training. Hands-on CPR, AED, and emergency skills for people who actually go outside. Jupiter and North Palm Beach.
CPR
Hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation — compressions, breaths, and staying calm enough to actually do it.
Intro to AED
What an automated external defibrillator is, when to use it, and the steps a teen can take until help arrives.
Waterway emergencies
Heat, drowning response, marine stings, and what to do on a dock or a vessel before EMS is there.
Hook removal
Safe, age-appropriate technique when a hook finds skin, clothing, or a fish that still needs to go back.
Stop the Bleed
Bleeding control — direct pressure, packing, and tourniquet awareness, taught the way first responders teach it.
Why this exists
This coast is world-class. Most local teens never get a real shot at it.
Water safety gaps
Florida has one of the highest child drowning rates in the country. Many families never get formal water-safety education. We teach it with working firefighter-paramedics.
Classroom science isn’t enough
The snook, tarpon, jacks, and many other species are right here at Jupiter Inlet and the Loxahatchee. Most middle and high school students have never had supervised, hands-on time with them.
Five learning pillars
What every coastal teen should leave knowing.
Know this water
Marine biology & local ecosystems
Fish identification, mangrove and seagrass habitats, food webs, and human impact — specific to the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet, not a generic textbook coast.
Before the first cast
Water safety & boating fundamentals
Coast Guard-approved PFDs, weather, knots, rip currents, and how to behave on a dock or a vessel. On-water days run only with a licensed captain.
Firefighter-paramedics
First aid & emergency response
Age-appropriate first aid, bleeding control, heat illness, marine stings, and CPR awareness. Taught and supervised by certified paramedics and firefighters.
Catch and release
Ethical angling & conservation
Catch-and-release handling, FWC size and bag limits, Leave No Trace, marine debris, and the teen’s job as a steward of this estuary.
Off the phone, on a team
Life skills & youth development
Goal-setting, patience, teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and a look at careers in marine science, conservation, and emergency services.
Sessions
Saturday education. Sunday tournaments.
Education
Welcome & foundations
Program expectations and safety culture. Proper PFD use, introduction to the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet, and a simple knot that actually holds.
Education
Fish identification & habitats
Common inshore species — snook, redfish, trout, mangrove snapper. Mangrove, seagrass, and inlet habitats, and the food web that holds them together.
Tournament
Educational tournament
Not a cash shootout. Pre-event safety briefing, conservation scoring, skill checkpoints, and a debrief on learning and sportsmanship. Family invited.
Safety first
The water is the classroom. Safety is the door.
Ratios we do not break
Indoor 1:10. Shore-based field 1:6. On the water: one licensed captain plus one additional adult per vessel.
Adults are screened
Every adult with direct student contact completes Level 2 (or equivalent) background screening before they work with teens.
Medical coverage on site
At least one CPR- and first-aid-certified adult at every session. The program director is a licensed paramedic-firefighter.
On-water, a captain is in charge
Coast Guard-approved PFDs, worn correctly. Licensed captains have final say on the vessel. No free swimming in the standard program.
Who teaches
Captains. Paramedics. Educators.
Program educators
Odyssey First Response
Jupiter and North Palm Beach first-response training. Hands-on CPR, AED, and emergency skills for people who actually go outside.
odysseyfirstresponse.com
Licensed captains
Final authority on every vessel. Navigation, boat manners, and how not to learn the hard way.
Firefighter-paramedics
First aid, CPR awareness, heat, stings, and waterway emergencies — taught by people who run these calls.
Marine educators
Local ecosystems, fisheries, and conservation — guest experts from FWC and coastal science when we can get them.
Year 1 pilot
Enroll a teen.
Middle and high school, Treasure Coast and Palm Beach. Parent or guardian required. One enrollment covers the program. Dates come by email.
Enroll in the program
Founding season
Help put teens on this water.
Year 1 needs partners for insurance, PFDs, curriculum, and the people who teach it. Gifts are tax-deductible. If you want to help, reach out — we’ll walk you through what a gift actually covers.