THE Bahamian sport fishing industry got a massive publicity boost thanks to a partnership between local enthusiasts and one of the biggest media companies in the world.
Brooks Russell, co-creator of the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network, explained that he and his partner Tim Thompson approached USA Today several months ago to discuss ways of raising the industry’s profile.
The result was a slide-show of big, rare and interesting catches uploaded to USA Today’s website – and viewed half a million times in the first three days alone. The slide-show CAN BE VIEWED HERE.
The website itself attracts 100 million views a day, and its travel section, where the photos were posted, registers just under 30 million.
The slide-show was so successful that USA Today has now asked them to produce another one.
“This could be an amazing opportunity to get exposure for the Bahamas and for the industry,” said Mr Russell, adding that sports fishing is a thriving but neglected activity, particularly in the Family Islands.
“This idea was pitched on a sunny day at the Ocean Club as we realised the USA Today had nothing on their website pertaining to the sport fishing industry, a niche, high-value market that we knew was being overlooked,” he said.
The gallery is called ‘Spectacular Fish caught in the Bahamas’ and can still be found by searching the title on usatoday.com.
The website www.bahamassportfishingnetwork.com was born out of a desire to raise the profile of the industry by creating a space where fishermen could share photos of big catches and discuss their experiences.
The network has been up for a few years, so when they were asked us to create the slide-show, it was easy, Mr Russell said.
“We already had the contacts, we already had the photos – we turned it from a hobby into this platform that we hope continues to develop into the future,” he said.
With the new slide-show, they will be launching a contest to choose the best catch photos taken in the Bahamas.
After that, Mr Russell said, the next step is to establish a monthly USA Today slide-show, and eventually explore the possibility of adding video.
“This could really become a long-term partnership with that number of viewers,” he said.
Mr Russell added that anyone interested in joining the network or learning more about their efforts should visit the website or email: fish@bsfn.biz
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