Fish guts question.

[wuchikubo]

Hi all,

 

I had saw this question come up on another board and have yet to see an answer to it, so I'd like to ask the knowledgeable anglers on this board.

 

Is it alright to put the internal organs of a cleaned fish back down the ice hole or must I take it back and put it in the garbage can back on shore.

 

To me, ecologically it is more sound to put the guts back down the hole as opposed to to a landfill site. But I haven't been able to locate info in the regs on the disposal of fish guts.

 

BTW, I've emailed "ask the CO" to see what is their take on it.

 

Stan

Edited January 18, 2008 by HearingFish

[jedimaster]

Common sense says to put it back from where it came, but I think the CO's will tell you to take it home nd dispose of it. Can you imagine the stink and mess if everyone left there perch guts on the ice on cooks bay after a day of perching.

[Beats]

Why are you cleaning fish on the ice? If you are just cleaning a few to eat right there before packing it in for the day I don't think putting it down the whole is a bad idea. A couple of fish "remains" down the hole won't affect much. I can't see any reason to clean fish on the ice that you aren't eating right then though.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Beats

[Beans]

On a lake up near Bancroft, my niece and her husband have a cottage and we dump the remains over by a swampy area that has quite a few turtles...never anything left next day...(We've checked)

 

I agree with Beats...if you are just cleaning a few for a shore lunch on the ice...dump the guts down a hole...lots of crayfish down there to scarf them up...

[bbog]

Take 'em home and store in the freezer until garbage pickup then put them in the green (compost) bin.

[HookNrelease]

i have had this discussion on Lake O with MNR guys, the wording in the law reads apparently that you can not put the guts into the lake, i was told that it could be a charge under the enviromental laws, its seems to be a grey area that nobody really knows but we were told not to throw guts back into the lake !!!

[wuchikubo]

Well I got a quick answer from MNR (at the bottom) to the following emailed message:

 

Dear Conservation Officer,

 

I was hoping to see if I could get some insight on following.

 

During ice fishing, if I wished to gut the fish and possibly de-scale

the fish what is the proper method to dispose of the fish's internal

parts? Is it alright to cut them up and put them back down the hole or

must I dispose of them in a plastic bag and place it in the garbage at

shore? I am aware of the fact that the fish would need to be

identifiable with a glance thus the head, fins, and de-scaled skin

would still be intact and still connected to the fish until I got

home.

 

Ecologically, I think I should put the guts back down the hole as

opposed to sending more garbage to a landfill. But I just wanted to

know just in case I ever get questioned on the ice.

 

 

On Jan 18, 2008 3:58 PM, NRIC, MNR (MNR) <[email protected]> wrote:

>

> Hello Stanley Wu:

>

> It is proper to return the entrails of a fish to the water from which it

> came.

>

> Thank you for your enquiry.

>

> nric web reader - lm

> *******************************************

> Natural Resources Information Centre

> PO Box 7000

> Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5

> 1-800-667-1940

> Fax: 705-755-1677

> [email protected]

> http://themnrstore.mnr.gov.on.ca

> ********************************************

>

[irishfield]

Everyone print that one out for their tackle box. I was always under the impression that the regs stated you could not dispose of entrails into a body of water. Guess I can start cleaning them on the dock....but Leah may not like them snapping turtles hanging around. lol

[kickingfrog]

We haven't clarified the ice-hut registration yet, don't give us (and the MNR) another problem.

 

 

Seriously, there may be some interpretation and discretion on the part of a CO. Is there a negative impact? Attracting dangerous animals (bears). Nuisance animals (raccoons, skunks, gulls). Environmental harm? Minimal. I'd rather they go back down the hole than in a landfill. Not all municipalities have composting (green bins).

 

Just some rambling ideas.

Edited January 18, 2008 by kickingfrog

[carll2]

if you dump them guts during the summer in a shallow area well less than 10 feet after a couple days if nothing eats it..starts to smell weird

[wuchikubo]

We haven't clarified the ice-hut registration yet, don't give us (and the MNR) another problem.

Seriously, there may be some interpretation and discretion on the part of a CO. Is there a negative impact? Attracting dangerous animals (bears). Nuisance animals (raccoons, skunks, gulls). Environmental harm? Minimal. I'd rather they go back down the hole than in a landfill. Not all municipalities have composting (green bins).

 

Just some rambling ideas.

 

KF

The hut issue was answered. Easiest solution if you're planning on leaving the hut unattended (or not), just call them and get a hut number, it's free and takes 5 mins.

 

Is there negative impact? (to the environment I'm assuming you are referring to)

If a fish died underwater, what do you think would be the first to go? My bet: the guts and the eyes. I've seen it first hand with many of my past dead aquarium fish. And all the other fish keep on going around doing their own business afterwards.

 

Attracting dangerous animals. Well, if the remains were on ice, I could see that being an issue. But if you chop up the pieces and sent them back down the hole, the animals will have to break through the ice to get to them. Just don't leave a mess on the ice and use a bucket and shovel to wash the blood back down the hole too.

 

I use the green bin when I clean fish at home. It just makes sense.

 

Plus, you might have a bit better luck with the fishing after chumming the hole, it would attract smaller fish that would chow down on the remains, thus possibly bringing in larger fish.

 

Stan

Edited January 18, 2008 by HearingFish

[jedimaster]

Well since your question was while Ice fishing, I doubt very much that a bear s gonna be squezing down your 8 inch hole to get at the guts, I would leave out the concern of predators attacking you.

[wuchikubo]

Better yet, spread out the fish guts on a flat steel plate left on the ice and see what happens to the animals that go to lick up the entrails. (hmm, wet tongue on frozen steel). Pack a camera!

 

 

Sorry, brain fart.

Edited January 18, 2008 by HearingFish

[jedimaster]

I did something similar to that in Highschool.

I thought it would be funny to crazyglue a Looney to the top of a garbage and watch people try and pick it off during break one day. The first person down the hall was my Math Teacher. The glue didn't dry on top and his thumb got stuck to it. He went to the hospital with a garbage can lid... I gots in biig trouble.

[Ramble]

back down the hole, or back into the lake as long its the same body of water you caught the fish in. Gotta keep the neutrients in the lake.

[Daplumma]

Better yet, spread out the fish guts on a flat steel plate left on the ice and see what happens to the animals that go to lick up the entrails. (hmm, wet tongue on frozen steel). Pack a camera!

Sorry, brain fart.

Now thats funny,I dont care who you are!

Joe

[Clampet]

Around Lake Nipissing, in the Winter the food is pretty scarce, and the odd tid bits left behind are quickly scooped up local Gulls, Ravens, and the odd Red Fox.

 

[Mike the Pike]

Better yet, spread out the fish guts on a flat steel plate left on the ice and see what happens to the animals that go to lick up the entrails. (hmm, wet tongue on frozen steel). Pack a camera!

Sorry, brain fart.

 

 

[liquidsniper]

Hey HearingFish,

 

I told you I thought I had read somewhere that you couldn't do that!!! All it took was two forums, and an email to the MNR, and still we're not really clear on what the rule is?!?!?!?!LOLOLOLOL Me thinks the regs are kind of a joke, they have to be written in plain english and revised to eliminate the few stupid regs that exist. I'd be willing to pay double for my licence to see things whipped into shape and making more sense.

[Greencoachdog]

Check your local codes! Some municipalities require fish remain to be ground into no less than 1/4" chunks before returning to the water, in other areas... it's against the law NOT to return the remains!

[liquidsniper]

Check your local codes! Some municipalities require fish remain to be ground into no less than 1/4" chunks before returning to the water, in other areas... it's against the law NOT to return the remains!

 

SO you're saying if I take my fish home to clean, I must return to the lake where they were caught with the innards ground up no larger than 1/4" and dump them in the lake???? For some reason that doesn't seem right either.

[bigfish1965]

There is a finite (more or less) amount of food energy in a lake. As plants are consumed by some critters and those critters by other critters, the energy passes up the chain. Naturally all the critters die and sink or float along redistributing that energy back into the lake from whence it came. Think of it as a farmers field...you can only pull nutrients out of the soil and not return them so many times.

The law does not permit the introduction of deleterious components to the water. Considering the natural cycle of life, fish guts cannot be considered deleterious. The guts will be eaten by minnows and crayfish and those in turn by larger predators. I believe i read somewhere the ideal depth for dumping of guts was 14 ft (maximum oxygen concentration).

Some consider it unsightly, so it is best done away from docks and beaches if possible.

[camillj]

makes for wonderful rose gardens too

[Pinch]

Hey HearingFish,

 

I told you I thought I had read somewhere that you couldn't do that!!! All it took was two forums, and an email to the MNR, and still we're not really clear on what the rule is?!?!?!?!LOLOLOLOL Me thinks the regs are kind of a joke, they have to be written in plain english and revised to eliminate the few stupid regs that exist. I'd be willing to pay double for my licence to see things whipped into shape and making more sense.

 

I thought that the MNR reply was pretty clear.

 

Back down the hole it is!

[skeeter]

so then we should gut the fish and leave it behind then?

sounds good to me then i wont have to do it when i get home.

less garbage to carry out.

 

 

Dann