The Captains For Clean Water Podcast

A bill moving through Florida would make it legally dangerous to speak up about powerful industries — not by proving critics wrong, but by making public criticism too risky to attempt. In this episode, we break down SB 290 / HB 433, a quiet expansion of Florida’s food disparagement law that now reaches non-perishable products and agricultural practices. The result isn’t better information or publi...

Politicians talk. Special interests spend. Our waters suffer. That’s Florida’s reality. The only thing standing between recovery and collapse is science. On today’s episode, we sit down with Dr. Steve Davis, Chief Science Officer at the Everglades Foundation — one of the people who’s been mapping out how this ecosystem actually works and what it’ll take to bring it back. Steve’s research and scien...

Pete Squibb is a retired wildlife biologist and a local fly fishing legend known for catching massive snook off the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. Pete is known as the grandfather of Captains For Clean Water. He wrote the playbook on how to become a successful, grassroots movement. Without him, we wouldn't exist. Plain and simple. Pete has traveled all over the world studying different animals an...

John Lai is the president and CEO of the Sanibel-Captiva chamber of Commerce. John is at the forefront of leading the business community to be involved with the fight for clean water. In this episode, we hear from John on just how important the business community's voice is in this effort to save the Everglades. Own a business in Florida? This issue impacts you. Want to learn more? This episode is...

In this episode, we sit down with Captain Cody Rubner, a fishing guide based in Stuart, Florida, who represents the very best of what it means to be an advocate for our waters. Cody has stood up time and again for conservation, inspiring countless others to join the fight for cleaner, healthier ecosystems. Not only is Cody a full-time fisherman, but he also runs his own marketing agency, plays an...

In recent news, Governor Ron Desantis announced an agreement between the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of the Army that gives Florida the lead role in constructing federally funded Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) Projects. This episode aims to unpack the news and discuss what this means for the future of our Everglades. 

In this episode, we unpack some of the pressing questions that general public wants answers for. It is vitally important to be transparent with our audience - we would't be anywhere without our supporters. This format allows us to see what our supporters are curious about and where their focus is at. 

The fight for Florida’s waters didn’t start in a boardroom. It started on the bow of a skiff. We didn’t ask for this fight. We were just fishing guides in South Florida—spending more waking hours on the water than on dry land. We made a living chasing tarpon and snook, sharing the magic of wild Florida with anyone willing to step aboard. It was the best job in the world. Then, our waters started d...

This episode is a deep dive into one of the most urgent and threatening environmental battles in Florida: the Southland rock mine proposal in the Everglades Agricultural Area. We unpack the corruption, the fast-tracked approvals, the strategic language, and the political theater surrounding this project—and reveal how Big Sugar, private contractors, and local government worked behind closed doors...