PORTLAND – An innovative Web-based program is about to make a big splash in Maine’s on-line fishing community.
TripTracks Inc. – a new Maine business located in Portland – announced the release Friday of its TripTracks Fishing Logbook.
Starting Thursday, April 1, anglers can access www.triptracks.com to enter detailed information about their fishing trips into a free personal journal.
Anglers can record where they have fished, what they caught, and even upload photographs, all of which can be referred to at a later date to review a past trip or plan a future one, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Partnered with the department, TripTracks is to provide pieces of the data entered by anglers back to state fisheries officials.
“This innovative program will undoubtedly enhance our ability to effectively manage Maine fisheries,” Maine’s Director of Fisheries Operations John Boland stated in a press release.
With the data, fisheries biologists expect to better maintain the state’s fisheries and understand usage patterns.
“TripTracks will enable our fishery biologists to more accurately monitor fishing activity on Maine waters, and will provide an avenue to solicit input from or to provide information to anglers,” Boland added.
The idea behind TripTracks originated from two avid Maine fishermen, Keith Sirois of Gorham and Dan Tarkinson of Portland.
Tarkinson said the pair were searching for a way to journalize their fishing trips.
“We also realized that the data being collected is a valuable asset in the conservation and management of our resources,” Tarkinson stated in the release.
Sirois stated that the two men were “really looking forward” to working with the department “to show that technology and innovation is something that Maine is a leader in.”
April 1 is also Maine’s opening day of open water fishing.
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