Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Collection--over 800 images of Florida animal and plant life as well as employees of the Commission from 1955-1980

Collection Number: S 1553
Creator: Florida. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
Title: Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission Photographic files, 1955-1980.
Quantity: 4 cubic ft.
The 800 prints on this web site represent a selection from the Game and Fish Commission Collection. The entire collection can be viewed onsite at the State Archives of Florida.

Description: This collection contains four cubic feet of prints created by the publicity department of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to promote its activities and educate the public on its mission. Photographs of employees working in the field document the Commission's mission to preserve and manage Florida's wildlife. The wide range of Florida's wildlife is evident in pictures of all types of animals, including fish, birds, insects, and microscopic life, as well as larger mammals and reptiles. Other activities related to the commission, such as hunting and fishing and the recreational use of Florida's state parks and bodies of water, are also documented in these images.

Historical Note: The post of State Game and Fish Commissioner was originally created in 1913. In 1927, the state created the Department of Game and Fresh Water Fish, which in 1935 became the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The Commission’s mission was to manage aquatic and wild animal life and their habitats and to preserve a diversity of species distributions that provide sustained ecological, recreational, scientific, educational, cultural, and economic benefits. The commission managed, conserved, and protected Florida’s aquatic and wild animal life for the benefit of Floridians who actively pursue fishing, hunting, and other recreational activities.

In 1999, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and the Marine Fisheries Commission merged into one body (the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) with responsibility for conserving the state's fresh and saltwater aquatic life and wild animal life. Several marine-related programs administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, such as the Florida Marine Patrol, the Florida Marine Research Institute, and manatee and sea turtle programs, were also merged into the commission.