Statewide Student Art Competition Offered to Fish Fans

Are you a student who knows fish? Got some art talent? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would like to know about it.

The FWC is inviting students in all grades from kindergarten through high school to compete in one of four age groups in a state-wide art contest for a chance to win state and national honors and prizes. Since Lake Wales is a center for fishing and large-mouth bass in particular, there's a good chance that a local student may have a better than average chance.

The Florida State Fish Art Contest " inspires creativity while developing the next generation of anglers and conservationists," the FWC said in a statement issued Thursday.

"We are committed to increasing youth participation in freshwater and saltwater fishing through this effort," said Eric Sutton, Executive Director of the FWC. "The State Fish Art program is a unique and creative way to connect to youth anglers and the FWC is proud to be sponsoring the initiative for Florida."

Florida winners will be selected by the FWC in four grade categories, kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grade, seventh through ninth grade and tenth through twelfth grade. State winners will advance to the National Competition to be judged for top prizes including Best of Show. The deadline to enter is March 31, 2022.

To enter, students from Florida should submit their entry at Wildlife Forever – Florida Art, consisting of an original horizontal 9"x12" piece of artwork featuring any fish from the Official Fish List.

A piece of creative writing, no longer than one page, about the chosen species is required for grades 4-12 should be included along with the official Florida State Fish Art Contest entry form.