Learn to <b>Fish</b> partnership benefits families

Hundreds of new anglers got their feet wet for the first time at British Columbia’s provincial parks during 2012.

A record number of B.C. families took part in free Learn to Fish programs in provincial parks, which added value to the park visitors’ already great experiences.

“BC Parks partnership with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C.’s Learn to Fish program, helps embody our Families’ First agenda and one of its core pillars - family affordability. What better way to strengthen the ties that bind than spending time with those you love in a BC Park. Just as we know that families are as diverse as our province, we know provincial parks have something to offer everyone,” said Environment Minister Terry Lake.

The program served 2,765 youth and their families at more than 78 sessions in 19 different provincial parks during the 2012 season. This was a 20 per cent increase over 2011 levels in BC Parks. The provincial parks program is a result of a partnership with the non-profit Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC who has delivered the Learn to Fish program in B.C. since 2006. The Learn to Fish program has served nearly 100,000 participants throughout B.C., and of those participants, more than 12,500 baited their hooks in provincial parks. The program is delivered by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC in partnership with BC Parks and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.

Designed to attract new anglers to recreational fishing, the Learn to Fish program has a strong focus on conservation and increasing environmental awareness. It expanded in 2012 to include provincial parks in the Thompson-Nicola, Okanagan, East Kootenay, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island regions. The program’s increasing popularity builds on a 2011 expansion that was assisted by BC Parks funding of $5,000. Additional growth in 2012 was possible due to continued support from BC Parks, as well as $80,000 from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, $35,000 from the Columbia Basin Trust Fund and increased funding of $50,000 from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. For 2013, the Learn to Fish program aims to serve another 25,000 people at various locations throughout B.C. This will include more than 80 programs in provincial parks, reaching more than 3,000 youth and their families.

“We’re gratified that our Learn to Fish program has done so well since it was introduced to B.C.’s provincial parks. By bringing angling to youth and adults who have not participated previously, we are promoting a healthy outdoor activity that instils conservation awareness and will improve long-term stewardship of our natural resources - goals we share with BC Parks,” said Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC president Don Peterson.

Quick Facts about the Learn to Fish Program and BC Parks:

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FishingGold.com and Angling Technologies Announce Partnership

Clinton, NJ -- Today FishingGold.com and Angling Technologies announced they are partnering to develop a series of digital tools that will help anglers be more productive on the water.

"The future of fishing media is in providing anglers with proprietary digital tools to help them find and catch more fish," said Jay Kumar, CEO of Sasquatch Media, owner of FishingGold.com. "We're very excited to combine our proprietary, growing set of tournament winning pattern data with Angling Technologies' proprietary, growing map data. The result will be applications that provide a truly new level of on-the-water intelligence for fishermen."

"Technology allows us to combine and provide information in ways not previously possible," said Brian Welde, Angling Technologies CEO. "Fishing is location-based, and we are always looking for ways to offer anglers new types of location-based information that helps them be successful. FishingGold's pattern data combined with our maps will create a truly amazing product for fishermen. We're really looking forward to partnering with a proven innovator in fishing."

Initially the two companies will integrate their sets of proprietary data into a product accessible on various digital platforms. Both data sets are constantly augmented, which along with an ever-growing amount of user-contributed data provides for continuously more useful and refined products.

A first in fishing, FishingGold.com has taken 50 years of reported tournament winning pattern information and turned it into searchable data. Currently it has more than 2,000 winning patterns, including all B.A.S.S. events from the 1960s up until now. Anglers can search by water body or water type for a particular timeframe and see results displayed in graph form, then see the per-tournament details. Anglers can also upload their own data to benefit from the same tools. Learn more at FishingGold.com.

In addition to FishingGold.com, Sasquatch Media owns the No. 1 bass fishing blog, BassParade.com, the revolutionary Serious Bird Hunting upland books, website and TV show, as well as several non-outdoor enthusiast properties. Sasquatch Media also helps companies in and outside in the outdoor industry with digital strategy and implementation.

Angling Technologies provides specialized mapping expertise in the outdoors space. The Angling Technologies team aggregates fishing map information from across the internet in one place so anglers can more easily find and use it on desktop and mobile platforms. The Angling Technologies online map allows anglers to control what they want to see and customize a map with their own detailed private or public (shared) content in real time. See it in action at: http://mapper.angling-technologies.com.

Media Contact
Jay Kumar
jckumar@sasqmedia.com

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