Celebrity host to judge Wildlife Forever International Fish Art Contest

WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN – The Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest® has aligned with the World Fish Migration Foundation and Jeremy Wade, celebrity host of "River Monsters" to promote global awareness of migratory fish. Youth who participate in the Fish Art Contest can win special prizes and recognition when Jeremy Wade announces the winners of the Fish Migration Award on May 29th.

Jeremy Wade, host of River Monsters and Mighty Rivers TV series on Animal Planet is the chairman of the judging panel. He, along with several other judges from around the world, will be judging selected art pieces and announcing the winner of the Fish Migration Award.

Wade says, “Fish are such a great, diverse subject for inspiring artworks: from shiny and colorful to mysterious and other-worldly. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes in. So come on everybody — unleash your talent and imagination now!”

The Fish Migration Award is a new award category in the State-Fish Art Contest. The winners of this award will be celebrated on World Fish Migration Day (WFMD), October 24th, 2020. WFMD is a one-day global event to create awareness about the importance of open rivers and migratory fish. Hundreds of events have been scheduled around the world engaging the public and sharing this important message.

“Our world is connected by water. The Fish Migration Award allows young people to learn about fish and global conservation efforts. The Art of Conservation® celebrates the culture of fishing through the arts, inspiring stewardship for future generations,” said Pat Conzemius, President & CEO of Wildlife Forever.

The Fish Migration Award is free and open to young artists between the ages of 5 and 18. To enter, contestants should create an original illustration of any species from the Official Fish Migration Award Species List, found at www.StateFishArt.org. The last day to enter has been extended to April 30th, 2020.

About the Artwork: An entry for the 2020 Fish Migration Award from Lissa Maria, 9yrs old, Estonia

About the World Fish Migration Foundation: Our foundation aims to protect and conserve migratory fish around the world. We do this by creating global attention for the challenges migratory fish face, inspiring and advocating for dam removals, and supporting initiatives that open up important swimways that fish need to complete their lifecycles.

About the State-Fish Art Contest: The award-winning Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art® Contest, with support from Title Sponsor Bass Pro Shops and the US Forest Service, brings children, art and aquatic conservation together! To enter, young artists create an original illustration of any official state-fish and written words detailing its behavior, habitat, and efforts to conserve it. Entries are categorized in four grade levels: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Educators nationwide utilize Fish On!, the full-color State-Fish Art Lesson Plan, integrating the disciplines of science and art. Entries are due postmarked by March 31st each year. State-Fish Art is also Supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, learn more at www.statefishart.org.

About Wildlife Forever: Our mission is to conserve America's wildlife heritage through conservation education, preservation of habitat and management of fish and wildlife. Wildlife Forever is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to investing resources on the ground. Recent audits reveal that 94% of every dollar supports our award-winning conservation programs. Please, Join Today and learn more about the State-Fish Art Contest®, Clean Drain Dry Initiative™ and Prairie City USA® at www.WildlifeForever.org