October 9, 2013
Whitehorse, Yukon – Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon, on behalf of the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, presented Dennis Zimmermann with a 2013 Recreational Fisheries Award.
Canada’s National Recreational Fisheries Awards were created in 1989 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in areas such as recreational community leadership, restoring and enhancing fisheries and fish habitat or promoting conservation and sustainable recreational fishing.
“Our Government is proud to recognize dedicated volunteers for their outstanding commitment to conservation of resources and to recreational fishing,” said MP Leef. “Their efforts to protect fish and fish habitat and to promote recreational angling help preserve our important resources for future generations to enjoy. I offer my sincere congratulations to Dennis Zimmermann for his outstanding contribution to recreational fishing in Canada.”
“I am honoured to receive this award and to be a member of this great community of Canadian anglers,” said Mr. Zimmermann. “As a recreational fisher, my goal is to continue to make fishing more accessible, getting families outside, connecting with each other, with nature, and hopefully with a fish. The more we participate in fishing, the more likely we will value the resource and protect it.”
Dennis Zimmermann is a tireless promoter of ethical fishing and family participation in recreational fishing activities. His efforts are ensuring that beginners, young and old, have a chance to learn how to fish and he has been instrumental in increasing public participation in recreational fishing in the Yukon. His passion for education and conservation has benefited Yukoners of all ages. He organizes opportunities for everyone to learn, and he and his family are at most family fishing events. Without him, there would be fewer fishing families in the Yukon.
Mr. Zimmermann is also a leader in the Yukon in using internet technology to promote recreational fishing. He is the editor of “Fish on Yukon,” a blog that educates, informs and serves as a resource for all anglers, with articles promoting and informing about angling and angling opportunities. His blog encourages local environmental stewardship through education and personal story sharing.
Mr. Zimmermann has organized the “Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-Up” in recent years on local, highly used fishing holes, resulting in significant shoreline improvements. These clean-ups, workshops and education initiatives are serving to increase the awareness and responsibility of future generations of anglers. He also encourages environmental stewardship across the border in Alaska, which is very important to the Canadian recreational fishery as responsible and conservative angling in Alaska leads to higher returns of fish in Yukon rivers.
For more information about the National Recreational Fisheries Awards, please visit http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/rfa-ppr/awards-prix_e.htm.
To view a video of the Yukon River Salmon Educational Exchange 2012, a project Mr. Zimmermann worked on, please visit http://youtu.be/F2UpOsk7Myk
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