Quick! When does Gulf snook season start in 2015? When does the prohibition on lionfish breeding go into effect? When is the next Kids’ Saltwater Fishing Clinic? What about a rulemaking workshop? What are we discussing at the next Commission meeting?
If you knew the answers to all of these questions off the top of your head, then congrats, either you work in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Division of Marine Fisheries Management with me or you are a genius. But, let’s be honest, even those who work in this field day-in and day-out need the occasional reminder of season start dates and upcoming events.
That’s where “FWC’s Fishing in the Know” comes in. This monthly newsletter keeps you informed about upcoming season openings and closures, regulation changes, important events such as fishing clinics, Commission meetings and workshops, and more.
For the more seasoned followers to the Division of Marine Fisheries Management, this “Fishing in the Know” newsletter may sound vaguely familiar. That’s because it is.
“Fishing in the Know” is the new name for what many have known for years as the “Hot Sheet.” The “Hot Sheet” started off as an internal document, a way to let the front lines of our agency, the folks who answer the phones, know what is happening and what they might get calls about. The format was simple, and the content was limited to what topics were hot or being talked about at the time.
But as the years passed, the list of people who wanted to receive this kind of information, both in-house and outside the agency, grew. We began posting it online so the public could have easy access, and we added new features like a list of upcoming events and an easy-to-read list of upcoming season openings and closures with links to Web pages for more information.
In 2013, we began sending out our emailed communications (newsletters, columns, etc.) via a new system called GovDelivery, and a new opportunity arose. Not only would people have the ability to opt in or opt out of receiving the Hot Sheet, we could reformat the look so that it was more visually interesting and easier to read. The new format also allowed us to start including your fishing photographs.
Basically, what once was an internal white paper that focused on what issues we might receive calls about had now morphed into a Marine Fisheries Division newsletter with more than just the latest hot topics.
New look, new feel; why not a new name to reflect both?
The new name, “FWC’s Fishing in the Know,” reflects the newsletter’s goal of making sure you, the readers, are up-to-date on the latest regulation changes, meetings and season openings and closures. So when you fish, you are fishing in the know.
Do you want to fish in the know? Get the Marine Fisheries monthly newsletter by visiting MyFWC.com and click on “Sign up for updates” next to the red envelope in the top-right-hand corner. Then just type in your email address, hit submit and select “Marine Newsletter” under the “Saltwater Fishing” category. You can also access the information on our website at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater” and “Latest News-Hot Topics.”
Interested in having your photograph featured in an upcoming “Fishing in the Know”? Send it to us at Saltwater@MyFWC.com. Make sure your photo meets our photo requirements by visiting MyFWC.com/Fishing and clicking on “Saltwater” and “Ethical Angler Photo Recognition Program” at the bottom of the page. Don’t forget to record all of your catches on the iAngler phone app or at www.snookfoundation.org/data.html.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Are you ‘Fishing in the Know?’ Marine Fisheries newsletter gets new name for new style