When I first started this podcast, one guest I wanted to bring on was The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). My first thought for doing this was to get some information not commonly shared without searching and have them bring it up. When I started asking friends about how to approach it, I found them asking me to put policy and explanation about individual issues was the most prevalent. I quickly realized that this episode was going to require finesse and patience. If you’ve ever worked in the government sector, you’re well aware of the “no comment” route that quickly shuts everything down with no follow-up allowed. I couldn’t have that, and thankfully, I didn’t get it!
The interview had two outstanding guests talking to us, who were very open about answering questions. Emily Abellera- Public Information Specialist & Jill Christoferson- Fisheries Biologist, brought their A-Game with the answers to the questions, and we had a little fun along the way. They also elaborated and interacted through the whole thing! What came out of it was explanations of some common questions I have seen on social media, but no clear-cut answer was given.
One, in particular, was the HOW the limits are determined and the process that went with it. The method is……well, you’ll have to check out the episode to get the whole answer. My writing might be misconstrued as there is no feeling through the text.
While the forefront of people’s minds about the FWC is the Law Enforcement portion, they have many other divisions inside the organization. They are publicly available on their website, but you must dig around a little. The blog portion of their site is also jammed packed with knowledge and information that they share to help anglers and hunters. During the interview, they also sent me a phone number to help with answering questions. 850-487-4676
While I understand everyone is different and has their own opinions of the organization, I ask you, have you expressed that to them or asked why something is the way it is? Reach out or “befriend” one of your local FWC officers to have a reference (after attempting a search yourself….I mean, you have a computer in your hand and search engines are better than Social Media). I have the cell phone number of two officers here that I know I can call to get me on point if something seems off.
Finally, on this topic, if you’re not doing anything shady, you probably won’t have any issue with them (unless you’re my buddy Justin Reed Fishing in which case his earrings will have them show up no matter where we fish). I hope you enjoy the episode!
Comments