The Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife has selected the winners of the 2008 Fish Art and Writing Contest.

The annual contest encourages children in grades 4 through 8 to learn about New Jersey's fish species and the importance of natural resource conservation. More than 200 students statewide submitted artwork depicting a fish native to New Jersey in its natural habitat. For the writing portion of the contest, students submitted brief essays about the fish in their drawings or paintings.

Contest winners were honored at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center in Oxford, Warren County, during opening day of trout season April 5. They were invited to fish for trout with their families and guests in the Pequest Education Pond. The children then received certificates and fishing equipment at an awards luncheon, sponsored by the New Jersey Council of Trout Unlimited. Council president Rich Axt and Division Director Dave Chanda presented the awards.

After the luncheon, winners and guests had the opportunity to tour the Pequest Hatchery and learn how brook, brown and rainbow trout are raised for stocking in New Jersey’s publicly accessible waterways.

Visit www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/fishart_cert.pdf (pdf, 155kb) for a downloadable certificate teachers can print for every student who participated in the contest.

Winning artwork can be viewed by clicking on each winner's name. The 2008 Fish Art and Writing Contest winners are as follows: