Taking Fishing into the 21st Century
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Dear IGFA Members,
After many months in the making, the IGFA is delighted to announce the creation of two monumental new products for the angling world in 2011: the launching of the All-Tackle Length Record category and our new iPhone application, IGFA Mobile.
The All-Tackle Length Record program marks the first time in the IGFA’s 71-year history that a new record category has been added that requires the live release of the fish. While the IGFA has always accepted records for fish that have been weighed on land and released alive, we have never required this for a record to qualify. Nor have we provided species-specific information to anglers along with their world record certificates that make fishermen more knowledgeable and better stewards of the environment. Both of these additions are cornerstones of this new program.
While practicality and safety concerns dictate that this new category be limited to smaller, easier to handle species, this marks a significant step forward for IGFA in our efforts to promote catch-and-release fishing. Beginning on January 1, 2011, the IGFA will start accepting world record applications for 126 species of fresh and saltwater game fish that have been caught according to IGFA rules, photographed on the new IGFA Official Measuring Device and released alive. Opportunities abound for the ambitious angler that has always wanted to see his or her name in the record books.
The second new initiative of the IGFA is one that squarely takes us into the 21st Century: IGFA Mobile. The 50 million iPhone users will now have an array of new tools at their fingertips that will make them more knowledgeable anglers and always connected to the IGFA. Indeed, we see this exciting new product as representing a new form of membership with nearly limitless possibilities for growth. In addition to providing the only real-time mobile connection to the latest world record catches, this must-have app also includes an informative species identification section with some of the finest game fish images found anywhere in the world. The “My Catches” component of the app gives anglers the ability to take photos of their catch, add data such as length, girth, weight, location and personal notes, then immediately upload to Facebook or email to friends. And what makes this feature really exciting is that there is already interest from others in working with IGFA Mobile users to capture data on game fish to be shared with the scientific community so as to better manage and conserve our fish stocks. Exciting new technology and conservation rolled up into one! While currently only available on iPhones, we are already working to create a similar application for Android and Microsoft users.
As the IGFA approaches our 75th anniversary we are committed to meeting the needs of our members and the angling communities around the world. With global pressures on our fisheries increasing and the conservation of game fish more important than ever, the IGFA is looking forward into the 21st century to working with our members to make a difference through innovation.
Rob Kramer
IGFA President