Young artists and budding conservationists across Florida have a new reason to pick up their pencils. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and nonprofit Wildlife Forever have opened entries for the annual Florida Fish Art Contest, welcoming participants ages 5 through 18 to explore the state's native fish through original artwork and creative writing.
The contest is divided into two tracks — Freshwater and Saltwater — each featuring a generous roster of eligible species. Freshwater artists can choose subjects like Florida bass, bluegill, Florida gar, and bowfin, while saltwater entries can spotlight species including snook, tarpon, mahi-mahi, hogfish, and red grouper, among others. Every submission must pair an original piece of artwork with a creative writing component.
Judging is organized across five grade brackets, from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, with a first-place winner and runner-up selected in each freshwater and saltwater category per bracket. First-place finishers advance to the national competition. FWC will also display winning artwork at its Tallahassee offices and feature the pieces in the state's official fishing regulations guides.
One particularly cool bonus: a single student's design may be selected for the GoOutdoorsFlorida hard card license option, meaning the artwork could appear on collectible credit-card-style fishing licenses available to anglers statewide. The contest itself traces its roots back to a fifth-grader's homework assignment — a fitting origin story for a competition aimed at sparking a lifelong connection to the outdoors.
Submissions are open now and close on February 28, 2027, with winners announced approximately one month after that deadline. This story is based on information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Wildlife Forever.
