Why is it Illegal to dump Fish Guts?

[B-man715]

Not trying to start an arguement, but does anybody know why you can't dump your fish guts into the lake??

I know this law has been on the books as long as I can remember (both in Wisconsin and Minnesota). And I abide by this law.

Seems like a waste of fish food

I guess I could imagine what a boat landing would look and smell like in August if everybody cleaned fish there........but what would be wrong with ice fisherman throwing some guts down a hole for the lake to recycle.

Nothing goes to waste in nature....

[fishnhuntnboy]

I guess I could imagine what a boat landing would look and smell like in August if everybody cleaned fish there........but what would be wrong with ice fisherman throwing some guts down a hole for the lake to recycle.

Nothing goes to waste in nature....

This right here is prolly why. Could you imagine if everyone cleaned there fish at the landing. Not only would it absolutely smell but would also bring all kinds of critters to the guts. I have cleaned fish at the lake before doing a shore lunch on an island and dumped back into lake but that's usually on a camping trip or something

[TruthWalleyes]

For the sleeper house example, it is so you have proof of fish consumed during that day so the DNR can enfore daily limits and you can't just dump guts and keep another limit.

Other than that, i suppose it could get pretty ugly in some of shanty towns with everyone dumping guts down the hole.

Ecological wise, i dont see anything wrong with it.

[AndRo]

In Alaska we throw everything back into the River, granted that is moving and flushes into the ocean. However I do snag a dead carcass here and there, which is annoying.... It is tougher to reel in with the current than an actual live fish.

Where we launch for the deep sea fishing they have cleaning stations everywhere and animal proof waste bins. Works nice. Oceans and Rivers are large moving bodies of water and the waste doesn't just sit there.

I could see it becoming a real mess at the lake, especially a small lake. Unless they had those bins and cleaning stations with running water.

[fishnowworknever]

TruthWalleyes -

What if you were to just gut the fish? Still have the whole fish minus the guts.

Most of the big landings on Michigan have grinders, not sure where it goes after that though.

[OnAFly]

Ever had the fish sandwich at McDonalds?

[noodlerod]

Ever had the fish sandwich at McDonalds?

ROFLMAO

[Knoc]

The stray cat that lives under my deck would be VERY unhappy if I threw away her precious fish guts..

[fishwater]

The stray cat that lives under my deck would be VERY unhappy if I threw away her precious fish guts..

Ricky let you put a deck on your toolshed? That's 100% [PoorWordUsage]!

[gregg52]

well nobody really answred the question??

i wonder that to i think old fish just die on the bottom dont they

i cant see it as polluting te lake must be a reason though

[MuskieJunkie]

Ricky let you put a deck on your toolshed? That's 100% shat-astic!

HA! He had a good month selling shopping carts and had the extra cash to add on.

[fishnowworknever]

Ever had the fish sandwich at McDonalds?

That explains why I thought I saw a alewife tail in my fish sandwich last year.

[fivebucks]

I know one trip in the BWCA the rangers said to leave fish guts etc on rocks so the gull would eat them. They said to not dump them in the water cause with the cold water they don't decompose very fast or at all. I guess it could also create too many nutrients but that's just my theory.

[OnAFly]

I'm guessing it has to do with the volume of guts that would be laying around. One guy throwing ten panfish carcasses down the hole probably isn't a big deal. 100 guys doing it starts to be a big deal.

[Cheetah]

Fivebucks, that makes sense to me. If the bacteria can't break down the carcases until water warms in the spring, you could get a bloom of bacteria. The ammonia levels might also get too high, which in fish tanks will poison and kill your fish pretty quickly. In a smaller lake I could see those things being a problem for sure.

[TruthWalleyes]

TruthWalleyes -

What if you were to just gut the fish? Still have the whole fish minus the guts.

Most of the big landings on Michigan have grinders, not sure where it goes after that though.

In the summer, throw them in a cooler to keep chilled, or livewell to keep alive. . Removing the guts and leaving them in a hot boat probably isn't helping much anyway.

In the winter, a bucket with snow/water works great. I'm not a fan of thawing fish to clean them...just won't do it.

[Mistermojo]

HAHA Fishwater!

[Tracker55]

Granted, it was in the summer, but when we stopped for shore lunch on LOTW on the Canadian side, the guides threw the fish carcases in the water. By the time we finished lunch the crayfish had the skeletons picked clean. I would thing about the same thing would happen in the winter.

[Get'n Jiggy]

This is a funny thread,,, I've spent quite a little time fishing down

south and throwing fish guts in the lake is common practice believe it

or not. Most resorts have a fish cleaning station on the end of the dock.

First time I saw it done I was quite surprised, then the guide asked what

do you do withem up north? I told him we had to "dispose" of them, he just

shook his head and said "dang fool Yankees"

[reinhard1]

did the same thing down on Table Rock Reseviour. running water, cleaning table, hose and you just shoved the heads guts and skin down a little slide right in the water off the dock. lots of turtles in the area [and water moccasins]. good luck.

[Slabasaurus]

HA! He had a good month selling shopping carts and had the extra cash to add on.

Plus the creaky boards will help alert him to any samsquanch visits....

[mainbutter]

When I fished Cordova, AK some time ago, there was a fish cleaning station on the shore out to sea. A ramp with a spout at the top to get some water flowing flushed carcasses/guts to the ocean.

One day there were some harbor seals and a sea lion at the base of the slide, chowing on fish guts while we were disposing of our non-edible salmon parts. It was kinda cool.

[c0untryf1sh3r]

That explains why I thought I saw a alewife tail in my fish sandwich last year.

Good one!

[HandGunner]

Think if we all started dieing and decomposing werever we died im talking about 10 ppl dead for every one person now think how smelly and dirty life would be and how diseases can spread cause of so many carcasses laying around. Thats what i pictured when i read this

[frazwood]

I don't the exact rationale as to why Minnesota and Wisconsin have laws against this, but I can guess pretty well as to what happens scientifically (i.e., science and law often have, shall we say, a "curious" relationship).

When fish guts are thrown into a lake, they will decompose, which will consume oxygen and release ammonia (ammonia is toxic to fish). This similar to what would happen if a fish died in your aquarium at home. In the summer, this shouldn't be a huge problem (in the sense of "the solution to pollution is dilution"), unless a lot of people are doing it (which is probably why it's no problem to do this in Alaska).

Ecologically, it could cause some strange/undesirable things to happen. The last time that I went camping in the BWCAW, I was told to bury my fish guts because they attracted gulls, which were out-competing loons.

I would imagine that if everyone did this all winter, then it would create a major STINK in the spring at ice-out time. It would also attract a lot of flies, undesirable rodents (rats!), and birds (rats with wings!). These are all known to spread disease, which is a bad thing too.