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Contact: Deborah Turcotte, Spokesperson
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

Telephone: work (207) 287-6008 cell (207) 592-1164

Fax: (207) 287-6395

March 7, 2008

IF&W Partners with Maine Office of Tourism to Promote Fishing

Augusta, Maine – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is pleased to partner with the Maine Office of Tourism to promote statewide fishing opportunities on its premiere tourist Web site Visitmaine.com.

Fishing is one of three specialty topics on the Visitmaine.com web site, with Maine’s extraordinary cuisine and historic lighthouses also predominantly featured. To visit the site, go to Visitmaine.com and click on “Fishing” on the homepage.

The Fishing Feature brings one of the state’s most popular pastimes to the front of a web site that draws more than a million people annually to plan their Maine vacation. Its extensive information makes it easier for tourists to join Mainers on our lakes and rivers, according to Commissioner Roland “Dan” Martin of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Maine’s fishing opportunities are without comparison because of IF&W’s strong fish management practices and its statewide stocking program, according to Commissioner Martin.

What distinguishes Maine?

  • Maine has more miles of native brook trout waters - plus ponds and streams than any other state in the country;
  • Maine has the largest wild native brook trout populations in the country;
  • Besides Alaska, Maine is the only state with landlocked Arctic Charr;
  • Maine leads the country with 160 waters managed for landlocked salmon;
  • The Rapid River in Oxford County has some of the largest wild river brook trout found anywhere south of Labrador, Canada.

According to statistics kept by the Maine Office of Tourism, fishing is one of the most popular terms searched by visitors to the Visitmaine.com site. Now the information they seek is being served up with beautiful photographs, well-written first-hand fishing tales, and details about native species and how to catch them.

 “One valuable characteristic of the Fishing Feature is that visitors will be able to click on links to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Web site for more information on species, licenses and regulations,” Commissioner Martin said. “While on our site, they’ll also be able to view a wealth of fishing-related documents including the 2007 Annual Fishing Report, fish stocking reports, and weekly fishing roundups from our biologists.”

What visitors will find on IF&W’s site:

  • Licensing information;
  • Fishing regulations;
  • Tips for catching and releasing fish;
  • Fishing opportunities by region;
  • A list of Maine waters which are open to year-round open water fishing;
  • Information on the “Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs” youth fishing program;
  • A list of Maine lake survey maps.

Visitors also will see information on how to protect Maine’s splendid waterways, such as:

  • How to avoid introducing invasive aquatic plants into lakes and ponds;
  • Illegal Fish Stocking regulations;
  • The proper use of live bait;
  • Operation Game Thief and efforts to stop poaching.

“We hope that travelers will use this site to not only learn about Maine’s fishing opportunities but to plan a trip as well,” Commissioner Martin said. “Come experience what brings Maine residents to our waters – numerous varieties of fish, including native brook trout, salmon and bass, to catch in spectacular settings. The action is fun and it’s fast!”