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Trying to Solve the Walleye Troubles…
One of the interesting notices that popped up on Facebook in mid-May came from Put-in-Bay Township. It read:
TOWNSHIP NOTICE TO FISHERMAN
The Fish Waste Removal Container
is no longer available for use.
This season, the Township paid to haul over 40 tons of fish waste from the island. The increasing temperatures and coast of removal has forced us to remove
the fish waste container for the season.
It is recommended that fish waste be frozen
and hauled off the island when departing.
A couple of things struck us after reading this.
First, we had to wrap our heads around the “40 tons of fish waste” figure. That’s a lot of fish guts and we wondered how many fish that was. From recent reports, it is estimated that there are 89 million walleyes in Lake Erie this season. Let’s say the average catch is a 3 lb., 19-inch walleye, remembering that the limit is six fish that must be longer than 15 inches and those caught are mostly between 15 and 24 inches long.
About a third of the fish ends up being those delicious walleye fillets, and the other 2/3rds ends is as fish guts ready for the garbage can. Forty tons equals 80,000 pounds. Divide that by 2 lbs. and you get 40,000 fish caught by the spring fisherman who have been coming to the island for the last two months. That’s about 666 fish per day. With each fisherman limited to 6 fish, that 111 fishermen. Say each fisherman, with his truck and trailered boat, is accompanied by two other fishermen. That makes for an average of 37 boats and trailers each day.
We called Billy Market from Miller Boat Line and asked about the numbers of fishermen and their trailered boats coming over on the ferry, and he said that was probably a pretty good average considering there are weathered-out days and peak days which he said could be upwards of 70 or 80.
Putting this all together, that original 40 tons of fish guts figure, is indeed on the mark. Indeed, this is the “Walleye Capital of the World!”
Second, the 40,000 fish caught by the fishermen who come to the island in the spring are a minute fraction of the 89 million walleyes in the lake, but getting rid of their remains is a huge problem for South Bass Island.
No one wants fish guts in their trash can for very long, but what can be done with them? Between mid-April and mid-May the township puts out a dumpster for fish remains, but even in May with cool spring weather, the odor of “fermenting” fish remains is repugnant for nearby residents, plus the cost of the dumpster removal and final disposal of the remains on the mainland has skyrocketed. This year, the dumpster was put out the first of April, two weeks early, thanks in part to Paul Jeris from the Island Club who picked up the tab for the first dumpster.
One of the reasons the Township decided to provide a dumpster in the first place was because fishermen were disposing of their fish guts anywhere they could. That included private and public trash cans and even tossing them into the woods along our island streets and roads. Former hotel manager Kelly Mohn will even tell you about hotel guest fishermen who deposited their fish guts into the bag on the maid’s clean up cart.
Years ago, there was a composting pit for fish guts at the transfer station that had support from the ODNR. That project came to an end when decomposition couldn’t keep up with the amount of waste, plus officials weren’t happy with the mercury that was leaching into the ground during the process.
Removing the dumpster and suggesting fishermen freeze their fish waste and take it home doesn’t exactly solve the problem, and one islander already complained about seeing a return of the dumping practices of the past when he found stinking fish guts in a neighbor’s trash can. Needless to say they stunk up the entire neighborhood.
Unfortunately, dumping fish waste in the lake is prohibited by the ODNR regulations, although that still happens. We’ve seen fish cleaning stations where the fish waste is drained into an oversize garbage disposal, ground up and emptied into the lake, but due to the amount of mercury in the fish, officials don’t want it to get back in the lake
The ODNR issues tens of thousands of fishing licenses, but does nothing to help pay for Township’s fish waste dumpster. In all fairness, they did offer a fish gut incinerator to the Township, but its cost of operation was four times that of hauling the fish waste to the mainland.
So who does pay for the dumpsters? Township officials pay the bill out of their general fund, the same fund that is funded in part by the property taxes paid by those who own homes, cottages and businesses here on South Bass Island.
Apparently, Township officials have few options that make sense when it comes to disposing of fish guts. If you have any suggestions, please let them know.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
