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Fish Carcass Disposal?

43K views 51 replies 34 participants last post by  Ethical hunter 
#1 Ā·
How do you guys dispose your fish carcasses? I usually double-bag them and throw them in the garbage can, but by the time garbage day comes around it is pretty ripe. I think it would be best for the environment to throw them back in the river, but this is illegal in Oregon. I have heard of people using them for fertilizer, but I'm not much of a gardener (and I don't want my yard to stink). Any ideas? Should I look for the nearest dumpster and hope I don't get caught? Or should I use the garbage can at the McDonald's drive-thru? Seriously, I would love a clean and legal way to dispose of them.
 
#29 Ā·
There is a reason to it and its more than just the odor, however that is part. The other is that some systems cant handle all the bacteria that naturally decomposing fish, and fish that a bunch of people throw back in. Instead of allowing on some and not other bodies of water, they dont want us to do it, period.
When your done fishing, clean your fish - filet it - then toss that carcass into the woods!
Have you ever seen some of the small streams in Alaska when the Silvers or Sockeye were spawning? It's something you have to see to believe.

And please do not throw fish carcasass obove the high water mark or in to the woods, a lot of good dogs could be lost. All of my fish go back in to the river.
 
#30 Ā·
After a year in the freezer the shad goes in the garden if they don't get used for crabbing to make room for fresh shad. My wife is a serious gardeners and the beans just long them.

I haven't heard about the bear. I hope he got into the poplar planations. Had a copter circling the house and a bear hound eating our cat food this morning so it must have been sighted nearby. I like seeing the wildlife, the eagles, beaver, otter, deer. Haven't seen a bear locally yet though, that would be cool. I will look at the shad cemetery after work tonight to see if we had a visitor. I know processing tuna attracts racoons from far away, ecspecially when the canner starts venting.

I don't fill the land fill with recyclables and use foreign oil to fertilize my garden.
 
#31 Ā·
Until the rules are changed, I dont throw the carcass in the stream and will continue to dispose of in the woods. I own a dog, and know all about salmon poisoning. I try to toss it in places people dont stop, dogs wont roam. Maybe instead of everyone suggesting to do what ODFW has suggested not doing - hire your self a few biologists and change the law! :grin:

My comment regarding too much bacteria in the smaller streams is from an ODFW/biologist - not a buddy. It seems as he was educated in this field, and being new to fishing maybe he'd know a bit more than me... so I'll follow 'til the rule is changed.

Oh well, not that big a deal - not sure anyone really knows :shrug:

KC
 
#32 Ā·
Klean Cut,

why not bag it and throw it in the garbage?

It seems to be the least offensive way to get things done.

My favorite was the guy cleaning 4 springers at the end of a busy dock. Blood everywhere. I politely mention that dogs could get sick from the blood, he calls me a '&^4B&*% (*$$@#^$#. Then he tells me things about my mother. Another of the worlds great thinkers. He makes no effort to clean up the blood when he leaves.

Maybe I should send him the next vet bill I get for salmon poisoning :cheers:

Mark and the dog.
 
#33 Ā·
ClearCut:

Thatā€™s a great dog photo you have with your signature. Have you ever watched a dog die of salmon poisoning, KleanCut? I had the distasteful experience of watching my dog perish after getting mixed up with a salmon carcass that some kind soul threw out in an area where ā€œpeople donā€™t stop, dogs won't roamā€. It was one of the most distasteful experiences of my life. The dog was a real fighter. She went slowly.

This has been an interesting post. Iā€™ve have learned some things and I have particularly enjoyed the presentations of the different theories about the doā€™s, the donā€™ts of disposal. I like reading about the logical arguments that different individuals use to justify their solutions to the issue. Most of the solutions and opinions have one thing in common. Generally there is a shared concern for doing the most logical, responsible thing. ClearCut, there is absolutely nothing logical or responsible about your fish carcass disposal method! You are just plain lazy. Anywhere that you can get to, a dog can get to. Disposing of your garbage on land that you donā€™t own is just plain wrong. Sounds like littering of hazardous garbage on public property to me. Or are you throwing your carcasses on private property?

Sure hope you are not responsible for poisoning any dogs, ClearCut. Thankfully, the majority of comments here are focused on responsible and logical solutions.
:tongue:
 
#34 Ā·
:argue: Flame on dude... I throw my carcass' off of clear cuts. No homes or dogs or places to stop for quite a way. Lazy? Lazy is the folks who cant take the time to dispose of a carcass properly i.e.- toss it right at your feet, where you fish, a foot off the bank in the drink??? I actually go out of my way to dispose of them IF I CANT USE EM. You all assume the worst of people, like someone would just dump the carcass in a parking lot or something where people and dogs are!!!

Done with this thread- Nail Not, sorry about your dog.

KC
 
#35 Ā·
With all the talk about Salmon Poisoning on this thread, does anyone know what it is about Alaskan and Inuit sled dogs that apparently makes them immune? How could they have survived almost entirely on a diet of frozen salmon without this having been a major problem?
G
 
#36 Ā·
I always keep the carcass for crab bait much to the dismay of my wife. Toward the end of the summer thought the freezer is pretty full. They don't exactly pack very neatly. I have tried cutting them up and freezing in my bait cages for crabbing convience but that takes alot of cages. One thing I will never do again is this. After a great trip to Sekiu many years ago we had a dozen or so fish to process at home. Being fairly new to large numbers of fish, I brought them all home un processed. I proceeded to fillet them and freeze for the winter. At the time I did not crab so needed a good way to dump a dozen carcasses. garbage day had just come the day before. So I pondered. Uereka, I had what seemed to be a great idea at the time. I'll dump them down the storm drain in front of the house. We lived on a fairly steep hill and the pipes must be sloped also huh? So I dumped them all down the storm drain, was kinda tough on the bigger ones, those slots in the grates are kind of skinny. Mission accomplished!!! EXCEPT, remember it was summer. About a week later a horrible stench swept through the neighborhood. (it was a dry summer) i immediately knew what the problem was. After a couple of days of the stink, I decided I need ANOTHER grat idea to counter the first one. So, I stuffed the garden hose down the storm drain for an hour and a half and the whole mess moved downstream. Thinking back, it probably lodged at the next narrow spot ! I hope it made it to the bay instead of some other guys neighborhood. So, remember, don't toss those carcass in the storm drain!

Charlie
 
#37 Ā·
FishBead- That's funny!

Thanks everyone. I used to do the "freeze until garbage day"; I guess it had just been so long since I tagged a fish that I forgot last week, and now I have a very smelly garbage can to clean. Unfortunately, both freezers are pretty full, and I plan to fill any empty corners with shad, so I guess I can only catch 1 fish per week until I use up some bait.
 
#39 Ā·
Why dispose? Why not eat everything? Salmon frames smoke up real nice. And I can get a meal or two from the roe. There is also enough meat on a head for a decent meal. Why are fishers wasting the hard earned fruits of their labor?

HB :cheers:
 
#43 Ā·
That doesn't seem logical. Dogs move around just like people (i.e., their owners) do, so the gene pool of "northern" dogs is still subject to continual change. Seems more likely that there's some environmental (climate) threshold that limits the survivability of whatever little nasty it is that causes the sickness.
 
#44 Ā·
There are no age, sex, or breed predilections; however, the disease prevalence is higher when the availability of fish is greater. Infected fish are found in the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to the coast of Alaska, but SPD is more prevalent from northern California to Puget Sound. It is also seen inland along the rivers of fish migration. Apparently, the snail is the geographically limiting factor.

Hmm, snail carries it like mosquitos carry malaria
 
#47 Ā·
Why dispose? Why not eat everything? Salmon frames smoke up real nice. And I can get a meal or two from the roe. There is also enough meat on a head for a decent meal. Why are fishers wasting the hard earned fruits of their labor?

HB :cheers:
Why? :shrug: Why throw them in the river? :shrug: Or put them in your garden? With the amount of use I get out of every fish by using the whole thing, I'm getting 20-30% more out of every fish than someone who fillets and throws them in the river.

Conserve what you catch - use it all, not just the choice easy to access parts like the fillets.

HB :cheers:
 
#48 Ā·
In Alaska, they feed the dogs raw salmon right off to get the disease overwith... Or so I have heard.
They do that here in Tillamook, too.

Jen

(just one thing, though... Who is "they?")
 
#49 Ā·
I'd be willing to bet there have been some rather "Happy Critters" over the years eating the King scraps. I have fished from Nor-Cal to Kodiak and there are various ways to dispose of the Carcasses. In the Gold Beach area they have a drain tube that runs right into the Bay and the carcasses land right on top of "Jabba the Hut's" dinner plate. Actually it was a seal down there but the same difference if you know what I mean. In the Soldotna region of the Kenai River all or most of the folks are sending the scraps back to mother nature to help feed the little fishes. I think if there is a stagnant area in a riversystem there should be no dumping. Think if you took all of the Crab Bait you have used over the years what that would look like. I think there are plenty of ways to dispose of the waste. Common sense howerver is very uncommon. I say better to get them to the other animals in our :angel1:Eco- System :angel1: that need them than have it end up in the dump.
 
#51 Ā·
About the Salmon poisoning for dogs. The parasite does not live in the Northern country. Infact its somthing that only affects river salmon and steelhead. Dogs can eat all the fish they want that comes out of the ocean or salt water. (Not reccomend you feed it to them) But when fish enter the river is when it is picked up and can kill dogs.

As for me guts in the river everytime. You can do this reponsibly as any of the other alternatives. The law stops people from being pigs and turning boat launches into graveyards.
 
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