50 Florida schools get fishing club grant from FWC

A student makes a catch. COURTESY PHOTOS

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will issue a School Fishing Club Grant to 50 schools for the upcoming school year. The School Fishing Club Program is an annual educational grant program that teaches youth anglers about best fishing practices to help ensure the future of fishing in Florida.

Among the grantees this year are Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School in Punta Gorda and Toledo Blade Elementary School in North Port.

Each selected school fishing club will be awarded $500 to assist with club expenses, such as gear and tackle, so that they can get out on the water and reel in some fish. FWC also provides program curriculum and educational materials to be taught throughout the school year by the club sponsor. The curriculum comprises lessons and activities on ethical angling, conservation, Florida’s aquatic habitats, basic fishing gear and general fishing concepts. It is applicable to both fresh and saltwater fishing. Additionally, at least one conservation project activity must be completed each school year and is an opportunity for clubs to earn points for a chance to win prizes.

Punta Gorda Middle School Fishing Team

This FWC program is a joint effort of internal collaboration between the FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management ( myfwc.com/fishing/ freshwater), Division of Marine Fisheries Management ( myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater ) and the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network ( fyccn.org ).

The program is supported by funding from the Coastal Conservation Association ( ccaflorida.org ) and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida ( wildlifeflorida.org ). Funding from the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida is provided by Mrs. Connie and Mr. Garner Koons. This program is supported by local partners, including Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Hobie Eyewear, Pure Fishing and Flambeau Outdoors.

By participating in the School Fishing Club Program, FWC provides school fishing clubs with the core curriculum, grant funding and educational publications such as fishing lines, current fresh and saltwater rules and regulations, and the fishing clinic manual.

FWC’s School Fishing Club Program partners with organizations in the fishing industry to support its conservation project, focusing on reducing single-use plastics.

Its partners donate cool prizes to the program, which are given out at the end of the year to the top three schools that compete in the conservation project.

Punta Gorda Middle School was a third-place winner in 2023-2024. The school had won first place in 2021-2022.

See MyFWC.com/SFC for the complete list of schools selected for the grant.

The Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the FWC and other public and private partners to conserve Florida’s native animals and plants and the lands and waters they need to survive. Operating as a statewide community foundation for conservation, the Foundation has raised and donated more than $71 million to conserve nature and our outdoor heritage. For more information, go to wildlifeflorida.org .

If you missed the opportunity to apply for the School Fishing Club Program grant this year, the grant application will open in March of 2025 for the 2025-26 school year. Submit the application ( myfwc.com/media/29865/r3-fishing-grant-application.pdf ) to R3Fishing@MyFWC.com .

For more information about the School Fishing Club Program, see MyFWC.com/SFC.

Florida’s R3 Fishing Grant Program is supported with funds from the federal Sport Fish Restoration Program, the FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management, and the FWC Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management for the implementation of school fishing programs throughout the state of Florida.

Submit the application ( myfwc.com/media/29865/r3-fishing-grant-application.pdf ) to R3Fishing@MyFWC.com .

Submitting a grant application does not guarantee your club will receive the $500. Your school fishing club may still participate in the program even if your application is not accepted.

Applications determined to be eligible will be reviewed by an evaluation committee for merit, and to ensure the proposed projects meet the needs of Florida’s R3 Fishing Grant Program. The evaluation committee will score all proposed projects using the evaluation criteria ( myfwc.com/media/32054/sfc-scoring-criteria.pdf ) outlined in the Notice of Grant Funding. The scores assigned by individual evaluators will be used to calculate the average score, which will serve as the final score for the project.

Complete applications that meet the minimum required score will be ranked on a list in descending order according to total assigned points. Grants will be awarded to the highest-ranking applications until all available funds have been awarded. All selected applicants will be required to submit at least five student angler pre-surveys and a conservation project outline in order to receive funding. ¦

The post 50 Florida schools get fishing club grant from FWC first appeared on Charlotte County Florida Weekly .