If you’re new to Florida or need a refresher course in the basic practices of ethical angling, the Florida Sea Grant program has just the course for you – the Florida Friendly Angler Program.
With feels-like temperatures in the triple digits every day, this is a good time to prepare for cooler weather in the comfort of your home.
The free course is open to anyone, especially anglers looking to up their game. The course teaches skills and practices that help fish and the environment, a win-win for our fisheries, according to Florida Sea Grant. You will learn about three topics essential for any angler who wants to protect fisheries and the environment:
1. Best Practices for Fish Handling and Release,
2. Environmental Ethics for Anglers and
3. Introduction to Fisheries Management and Giving Back.
The course is self-paced and you can take as long as you need to complete it, but why wait? In just under two hours, you can be a fully certified Florida Friendly Angler. You will receive a certificate and a weatherproof decal if you provide a mailing address. Share this opportunity with friends and on social media using the tag #FloridaFriendlyAngler. After registering, you will be sent a confirmation email with details about how to log on. Check your spam folder if you do not see the email.
Today more than ever, it’s critical that anglers know how to properly handle the fish they catch so that those that don’t come home to dinner with you can grow up and help create the next generation of gamefish. Getting involved in protecting the environment so that future generations of anglers have some of the same opportunities we’ve had is more urgent than ever as the area grows exponentially.
The Florida Friendly Angler Program was created through a partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, UF/IFAS Extension and Florida Sea Grant. For questions about the program, email course administrators Michael Sipos at Sipos624@ufl.edu or Savanna Barry at Savanna.barry@ufl.edu.
