Using Social Media to Promote and Interact with Anglers for Trophycatch

The recent advent of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter offer novel venues for natural resource agencies to interact with the public. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's new TrophyCatch citizen-science program provided an ideal opportunity to explore this new outreach tool. Facebook was chosen because of its widespread user base, photo-oriented interface and readily accessible commenting and messaging. The “TrophyCatch Florida” Facebook site has been successful with over 7,000 “Likes” (followers) and a program rating of 4.8 out of 5, with little monetary investment beyond employee time. These and other easy-to-use “Insights” tools provide instantaneous tracking of a variety of components, such as Post Reach, Page Views, and Actions (program signup) for evaluation. Like most exploratory ventures, there have also been risks involved and lessons learned as we move forward to communicate with a new generation of socially connected stakeholders.