43rd annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival returns

CORTEZ, Fla. — The Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival is back this weekend.

The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) hosts this event annually and members say it took a great deal of support to make it happen after the storms.

“It was definitely a decision that FISH approached the community about because this community had suffered so much damage from both of the hurricanes Helene and Milton,” FISH board member Angela Collins said. “But the decision was made to move forward and celebrate the resilience of this community. Also, it’s just a great way to again bring support to our commercial fishermen and their families.”

And that’s exactly Randy Rickard’s mission—every time he makes food, he aims to have fun.

He also makes sure that everyone else is having fun, too.

“Well, I was born and raised cooking food,” he said.

Rickard has been serving hot meals at the historic Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival for 35 years.

“It’s part of our lifeblood, how we survive. It’s a fabulous festival—it’s how we survive,” he said.

This year’s theme, “Swamped but Never Sunk,” reflects the struggles the town has faced during the hurricanes and how the community has persevered through hardship. Many feared the festival wouldn’t happen this year.

“It feels good to come back, to see the community bounce back from the massive disasters down here,” Rickard said.

The festival’s proceeds also help protect the nearby fish preserve, which Rickard says is vital to the area.

“I hope it never goes away because it’s part of the preservation of the area. As you saw coming up the road, there’s a lot of building, a lot of development, a lot of land disappearing. This festival helps preserve both the land and the commercial fishing industry,” he said.

This year, FISH hopes to raise $100,000.

All proceeds will go toward funding the conservation and restoration of the fish preserve.