dead seafood at the landing

[stackz]

growing up my parents vacation spot was a camper area by a local landing. I'd always see people just toss sharks and such overboard right there at the landing versus keeping them or tossing them elsewhere.

always made me wonder the hell they were thinking? why not just toss it back if you dont keep it. I'm talking whole fish here.

last night was riding my bike in the neighborhood and stopped at the landing a couple blocks from my house just to look around.

about 50 blue crabs were just dumped right at the landing. some were still twitching. all were keeper size for SC (5" tip/tip).

I mean seriously? again, what the hell man. toss them back if you arent going to keep them. dont wait till they are literally dead and drop them at the landing to rot and stink up the place.

back then and even last night, all were dropped well above the high water mark so the tide wouldnt take it out. I just dont get this. anyone else?

 

[JB]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

When I was a tad nobody seemed to realize that resources, like wildlife, are limited and can actually be depleted. Ever heard the saying about there being "plenty of fish in the sea"? People actually thought that was true in those days.

Today we pay the price for such stupidity, but "catch and release" is more and more the rule, rather than the exception.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

Yeah, I don't get it either!

As my dad used to say:

"Don't shoot it or keep it, if you're not going to eat it!

 

[Steve A W]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

"Catch and release" also means
"Catch and don't Clean"
I was allright with this concept, Then I had kids.
They want to keep everything!
Oh well, They'er Keepers.
Steve A W

 

[Dakota Dave]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I like to fish but don't eat fish daily. so I catch and release. If the fish comes in my boat or up on the shore with me I take it home clean and eat it. Leaving anything to rot and stink up the landing is just criminal. When I take the kids trout fishing in the stream we us barbless hooks so I can release without harming the fish. there is no way i'm bringing home all those little fish the kids catch. My 5 Yr old daughter did catch a 20" walley I did bring that home and she ate 4 filets that evening all from her fish. (at least she thought they all came from one fish.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

When I was a tad nobody seemed to realize that resources, like wildlife, are limited and can actually be depleted. Ever heard the saying about there being "plenty of fish in the sea"? People actually thought that was true in those days.

Today we pay the price for such stupidity, but "catch and release" is more and more the rule, rather than the exception.

It wasn't that long ago that there weren't any recreational saltwater fishing licenses and no limits.
In the future you can look for licenses to become more expensive and limits will get smaller.

"Catch and release" also means
"Catch and don't Clean"
I was allright with this concept, Then I had kids.
They want to keep everything!
Oh well, They'er Keepers.
Steve A W

Teach your children the proper culling procedures while they're young so they can grow up to be admirable sportsmen when they grow up.

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I have a problem with catch and release, where they catch them, hold them in a "live" well for hours, weigh them, collect their prize, and then dump them back in at the ramp half dead. There are bass contests most weekends on the lake we live on during the summer. The number of dead or dieing bass you find at the ramp after they catch, stress, and release is sad. It's the states fault, because they keep issuing permits. The association around the lake is discussing the issue with the DNR to see if they can limit the number of tournament permits issued for the lake. The lake has fast boating hours from 10:00 am - 6:30 pm which makes it a very nice lake to fish...except some bass tournament fishermen just ignore the hours and blast across the lake at 5:00 am. They had to idle right by a sign with "Fast Boating Hours" in 8" high letters.:facepalm: I mean it's a 500 acre lake and ya gotta do 70 mph from the launch site to the other side before the fast boating hours .....ok rant over

 

[mommicked]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

Do people fish at the ramp? Maybe someone is trying to run them off w the stench!

 

[stackz]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I guess the thing that really gets me is that our neighborhood landing has the fire department about 40' from the ramps. and the crabs were obviously dumped very close to the time I got out there and all the firefighters were tossing a frisbee in front of the station.

they had to see the guy doing this. I know half of them are avid fishers and one tags along with DNR a bunch. makes me wonder if they ignored it or wrote the guy's boat numbers down at least to report him. I mean in the end, they are the ones to suffer the most from the stench of the rotting crabs...

 

[robert graham]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

Maybe the folks been out fishing and crabbing all day, and just keeping everything they catch, then when they return to the ramp, they think,"we don't want to keep and clean all these stinking fish", dump 'em out right there...go get some burgers!...it's a pitiful waste our our wildlife resources and makes a smelly mess around our ramps. It's a good saying, "Keep what you can eat and eat what you keep"

 

[greenbush future]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

In Michigan we have laws about wasting our natural resources and you can be fined for doing so. I think it falls under ?won-ton waste? or something like that. As far as tournaments and the impacts of the lake, the fish, and boaters, I?m not a fan of them. It?s tough to just throw all tourney guys into one group, but they really have a bad reputation, for speeding, no wake zones, rude fishing etiquette. I could go on, but if tourney is scheduled at the lake I planned on hitting, you can count on serious boating frustrations.

 

[mommicked]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I would hope every state in the US has the wonton waste law.

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I would hope every state in the US has the wonton waste law.

They do:...here is the Indiana definition


Wanton Waste
The intentional waste and destruction of fish is prohibited unless the fish is required by law to be killed. Fish must not be mutilated and returned to the water unless the fish is lawfully used as bait. Fish parts, including entrails, must not be discarded into any state waters, but should be disposed of in a sanitary manner that does not pollute the water or become detrimental to public health or comfort.

 

[dingbat]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

Here is a scenario

Commercial crabber. Has 10-15 bushels of crab on the truck that he is selling. Can?t sell dead or close to dead crabs and has to cull them from the basket for the customer. They end up with ? of a bushel of dead and dying by the end of the day so they stop off on their way home and toss them.

The twitchers are still editable. Throw them out where someone can pick thru them for a meal and let the rest get washed out on the tide or just toss them in the water?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I would hope every state in the US has the wonton waste law.

They generally only apply to game fish. There are lots of species that fall in between game fish and destroy-on-site invasive species fish. Buffalo carp in particular. Very common to toss those ugly things up on the beach if someone catches one, and there are people who will eat them if prepared/smoked properly. They are certainly not game fish, and as inconsiderate as it may be, fisherman leave them on the shoreline all the time.

ND LAW: Entrails can be left anywhere, just can't leave edible fillets laying around. At least with a strict interpretation of the law, having a fish fry and not cleaning your plate is illegal. You would be destroying edible fillets if you tossed anything you couldn't finish into the trash.

Of course, the law also is very poorly written in regards to transportation of live fish. It specifically allows transportation of tropical aquarium fish by a private person from a commercial seller only. A private party selling an aquarium fish, or even moving to a different house and taking the fish with is 100% illegal.

GENERAL FISHING REGULATIONS
Any person who possesses any game fish species
must not waste, destroy or abandon the edible flesh
(fillets).

3. TRANSPORTATION AND STOCKING
Transportation of any live fish, live fish eggs, live
amphibians or other live aquatic organisms is illegal
except for:
? Anglers transporting legal live baitfish and bait (see
page 18).
? Dealers and buyers of tropical fish species for the pet
trade sold at commercial outlets.
? Individuals in possession of the appropriate license
or permit from the Game and Fish director.

 

[stackz]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

Here is a scenario
Can?t sell dead or close to dead crabs and has to cull them from the basket for the customer.

you would think that, but its not so. I actually inspect seafood processors for my job. the crabbers will show up with their brown wood baskets of crabs (in all levels of "Activity"). they get paid either by basket weight...or they can take the time to separate out the billies (large male crabs) and get paid a higher rate for those and then the mix weight.

the processor will then dump the crabs into large 1200-lb metal carts and then retort them as-is and store the carts in the crab cook coolers before they are picked. the level of ammonia from crabs that were already dead before cooking can get pretty strong but that doesnt stop the meat from being picked and packed.

the processors do not take the time to dump out the baskets and check/separate live versus dead crab before they are cooked. just dump it all in and go.

also, yesterday, we had to take a detour in the neighborhood as they shut down the main drag for the big neighborhood church halloween fest. decided to drive by the landing. literally only person there was two guys pulling in their small crab boat. I wrote down their boat numbers and will be calling my buddy over in dnr at lunch.

why? they were the guys tossing crabs. why am I pissed? because the ones they were tossing were all illegal. undersize and surprisingly a couple females with egg sacks (I thought it was past season for that?). SC its illegal to take females with sacks, NC its legal, but not SC...big fine too.

but yeah, what they do is pull all their traps at once, then head in and THEN empty them and sort them. just sort them there on the water guys and toss back what you cant use before it dies. would have saved you a fine.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: dead seafood at the landing

there are dirtballs in every business. You would think the commercial guys who make their living from healthy waters and fish/crab stock would care, but they are often worse than recreational fish/crabbers. If they are going to cull the catch they should do it at the grounds.

 

[bassman284]

Re: dead seafood at the landing

I find I'm usually happier not knowing too much about how my processed food is processed.