Contact:

Nim Lee, NYSG's Recreational Fisheries Specialist, I FISH NY Program,
718.482.4940

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY, June 21, 2007 -- Perhaps you remember playing the card game Go Fish when you were a child.  Well, I FISH NY's Nim Lee and her DEC I FISH NY colleague, Sarah Bruner, developed a version of the popular card game featuring New York State fresh and saltwater fish on the cards.  The cards are being used in schools in New York City to help interest students in fish identification and biology.  Lee -- who illustrated some of the cards, including the summer flounder pictured below -- and the other I FISH NY program staff use them as part of one of their lesson plans. 

I FISH NY is an outreach program for New York City and Long Island residents designed to broaden knowledge of the local fresh and saltwater resources through fishing. IFISHNY staff offer in- and out-of-classroom instruction, public fishing events and teacher training. Throughout the boroughs of New York City, Lee and other staff provide free I FISH NY programs to third graders and up.

"My students and I learned a great deal from the fishing program and especially Nim’s knowledge of the local fishing community," said PS 78 science teacher Victoria Mulligan of her in-class I FISH NY programs last spring. “Nim motivated the children and sparked their interest in fishing, especially for those who had never fished before.” Adds Nim, “There are a lot of great teachers in the NY public school system. And Victoria is just one of the teachers who pursues opportunities like I FISH NY to augment her science curriculum.”

For more on Lee's programs in NYC, check out last spring's I FISH NY feature article, "Youth on the 'Line,'" in Coastlines (click here). I FISH NY is sponsored by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and taught by New York Sea Grant Recreational Fisheries Specialists.