DFO enforcing removal of fish cleaning tables

[Charts]

Not sure if anyone else heard this but in Prince Rupert all fish cleaning stations are to be removed from any dock to prevent people from cleaning fish and feeding ocean wildlife. The DFO fined charters and individuals last season and advised they will be fining all summer including surveillance set up. This is insane. Does it not end up feeding and improving marine life? How does one clean fish properly? This came right from Cow Bay marina. To me this is just nuts.

 

[Brando]

So you just fillet your fish on the dock instead? Doesn’t make sense!?

 

[Charts]

No fishing cleaning at the dock what so ever. This includes on your own boat and throwing carcasses into the ocean. This seems nuts to me but it was right from the source. How do you fillet a nice hali on your boat especially if you have a small boat. Nothing surprises me any more with DFO though

 

[walleyes]

Doesn’t surprise me one bit. To be honest I haven’t cleaned my fish at the station in a couple years, ever since I’ve had a boat with a wash down and a cleaning station. I do my fish in the boat while things are slow or on the ride in, sometimes I’ll stop even and clean before I get in. No putting up with no water press or getting sprayed by someone else or waiting in line. All done on board.

 

[RBL]

Maybe they have otters causing havoc on the dock? I know in Nanaimo I had one grab one of my fish out of the cooler one night lol. Little ******* suck up behind my back and jacked it. He went and hid it somewhere and came back. I started spraying him with the hose and it didn’t phase him. Just stood there taking it lol. They get in everyone’s boats and coolers at night.

 

[walleyes]

But yah I agree, how stupid can they get just no common sense.

But no different than in Alberta. When the Commies weaseled into power a few years back. They passed a law that we can’t dump our frozen bait minnows into the lake, they have to be deposited no less than a couple hundred meters from the lakes edge. So I asked an officer one time. You mean to tell me, I can fish with those minnows, they drop off your lure, the fish steal your bait, I can lose two tubs of minnows into the lake in a day of fishing yet when I’m done I can’t dump half a tub of the left overs into the water, that’s going to harm the lake. He said yup that’s the law lol unreal

 

[Sea lyin’]

Was in port renfrew 5 years ago near the end of may. Band member pulls up to ramp and backed in a trailer and tossed out about 100 halibut carcasses. In about 3’ of water. If that’s not feeding the wildlife I don’t know what is.

 

[Slabbedout]

I heard it had to do with people getting creative in carving up their fish ( mostly Hali) to appear like like 1 fish vs 2. Sounds like there was issues with telling if fish where within the size limits.

 

[Brando]

Is this coast wide or just for PR? I believe uclulet has something similar in the harbor? I get it if it’s area specific to deal with an issue but another blanket solution is a joke..

 

[Doug]

Most larger public cleaning station have a head recovery freezer or bucket placed beside them. People tend not to turn in clipped salmon heads unless it is made easy for them.
I know of one location where they moved the head recover bucket from the cleaning station to the office area (which is up the dock) and salmon heads dropped in that marina dropped by 50%..
If cleaning stations are removed, I believe clipped salmon head returns will drop by 50%. I guess the DFO plan is no data no fishing.
I cannot see removing cleaning station will go forward.

 

[searun]

Not sure if anyone else heard this but in Prince Rupert all fish cleaning stations are to be removed from any dock to prevent people from cleaning fish and feeding ocean wildlife. The DFO fined charters and individuals last season and advised they will be fining all summer including surveillance set up. This is insane. Does it not end up feeding and improving marine life? How does one clean fish properly? This came right from Cow Bay marina. To me this is just nuts.

Is it April 1st?

Perhaps this is related to solving a localized issue and other areas are simply following what has worked elsewhere? Plenty of Marina operators have stopped fish cleaning unless you dispose of your fish offal in deep water away from predators....which makes sense. Lots of lodge operators do the same thing.

Highly doubt that we have the full story here from this so called informed source at Cow Bay.

 

[eroyd]

Perhaps some lawyer type cashed in on having their kid yanked off the dock by a sea lion. Liability?

 

[seabeyond]

Is this coast wide or just for PR? I believe uclulet has something similar in the harbor? I get it if it’s area specific to deal with an issue but another blanket solution is a

In the small craft harbour you're not to dump your guts in the drink. All the charters have tables and clean in the inlet (many of the sporties too). There is a table right above one of the docks for cleaning but you can't dump your guts right off the dock. No big deal, guys just cooler the guts and dump them on their way out to the grounds in the morning.

 

[Charts]

Most larger public cleaning station have a head recovery freezer or bucket placed beside them. People tend not to turn in clipped salmon heads unless it is made easy for them.
I know of one location where they moved the head recover bucket from the cleaning station to the office area (which is up the dock) and salmon heads dropped in that marina dropped by 50%..
If cleaning stations are removed, I believe clipped salmon head returns will drop by 50%. I guess the DFO plan is no data no fishing.
I cannot see removing cleaning station will go forward.

This is a very very good point about heads!

 

[Saveth]

Is this coast wide or just for PR? I believe uclulet has something similar in the harbor? I get it if it’s area specific to deal with an issue but another blanket solution is a joke..

I know at island west in ukee, you're not supposed to toss the guts in the water by the cleaning table. Everyone basically ignores that sign and I've never seen any enforcement. Like others, I clean my fish on my way back in or when it gets slow.

 

[Charts]

I know at island west in ukee, you're not supposed to toss the guts in the water by the cleaning table. Everyone basically ignores that sign and I've never seen any enforcement. Like others, I clean my fish on my way back in or when it gets slow.

DFO should enforce the dumping of guts not making marinas take out fish cleaning stations. I run a 24 foot wellcraft so not a big deal to clean on board but 3 guys in a 18 foot what are there options to clean fish? Bring them home and clean them and then have CO'S up your butt asking why the bears are in everyone's garbage. Keep the tables and be responsible for dumping guts away from marinas. Just my 2 cents

 

[Howzer]

The guides in Cow Bay do pretty well when the fishings good. They clean on their boats at the dock and I've seen seals, eagles, otters and tourists congregate to get in on the show.
But they are in plenty of water and I personally never noticed any offal on shore.
Heck, back in the 80's when all the canneries were running in the harbour the water was thick with the by-product and dfo never had a problem with that.

 

[IronNoggin]

Is this coast wide or just for PR? I believe uclulet has something similar in the harbor? I get it if it’s area specific to deal with an issue but another blanket solution is a joke..

There were two issues in Ukee:

The sheer volume being dumped could not effectively be flushed by the tides, and it pretty much became a bit of a cesspool at times as a consequence.

And...
The sea lions became habituated to hang around and wait for the free lunches. They also became somewhat brazen climbing onto docks etc.
Had one climb the swim grid to try and wrest a hali from me once. He left with my gaff firmly implanted in his forehead.

Nog

 

[pescador]

I heard a story from a valid source in Nootka Sound that has a cleaning station where some peak days a few hundred fish would be cleaned. He told me he once had to dive under the cleaning table dock to find a large fish someone had accidentally dropped. He said it was strange, he couldn't find one carcass. It was clean as a whistle. It was like someone had vacuumed the floor.

 

[Eden Island]

I heard a story from a valid source in Nootka Sound that has a cleaning station where some peak days a few hundred fish would be cleaned. He told me he once had to dive under the cleaning table dock to find a large fish someone had accidentally dropped. He said it was strange, he couldn't find one carcass. It was clean as a whistle. It was like someone had vacuumed the floor.

I had the same experience [different result] in Rivers Inlet in the early 70s. Dad dropped his son's 40-45 pounder into 25 feet of water at the weigh-in station. That 25' sloped off very quickly. I tried vainly for half an hour, skin diving - but couldn't locate the whole fish among the forest of hundreds of gas filled guts, billowing up from gills and heads. I can still picture it.