Fish entrails in at least 25-foot deep water?

[BartHumphries]

How do people attempt to "cure" whirling disease in real life, other than hope that the fish population develops resistance? If a fish is infected with it, it seems unlikely that other fish are completely free of the disease and it seems like any parasitic spores in a fish would just be released upon the fish's death. From that standpoint, catch and release of a whirling fish would seem to be the wrong thing to do -- that you are leaving the environment and fish population cleaner if you eat the fish and bury the unwanted parts well away from the water (or burn them or pack them out or whatever). Can a human be affected by eating a fish with this disease?

[shortridge]

Seattle,

 

That's "chopped up baby parakeet."

[boomerscout]

I've viewed the sites of several national & state parks, and they all had diferent answers. The one I liked best: hang the entrails up in the brances of a tree near the shoreline so the birds can eat them.

So, if in shallow moving water, throw the entrails into the water to provide food for crayfisn, turtles, catfish, etc. unless park rules differ.

if in still water, do not throw the entrails into the water -- takes too long to decay. If the area is heavily fished, such as with a group of 6 to 10, too many entrails in one spot can cause a localized dead zone from lack of oxygen.

Do not (any longer) leave the entrails out on a rock. Gulls frequently beat the eagles & otters to the entrails. Gulls have become overpopulated, and are believed to be destroying native loon populations by eating the eggs.

Do not bury entrails in the Boundary Waters. One reason is that there is no soil in many areas. Second is that buried entrails aid & abet earthworms -- an alien introduced species (by fishermen who thought they were doing a good deed) that is slowly but surely killing the forests by eating the forest litter those trees depend on. I've read elsewhere that the earthworms are spreading ten yards per year. The suggestion is to canoe 150 yards downwind from camp, walk into the woods, and leave the entrails on the bushes. If buried, the larger animals just dig them up, while out in the open the little guys have a chance.

As always, the local constabulary has the final say. I still like burning the waste at the cooking spot - which is 150 plus yards downwind from the campsite. If near the truck & near home, I suppose I could pack them out and use them for garden fertilizer - just as Squanto taught us

[boomerscout]

the 25 foot rule seems to be a better than nothing rule to get people to stop dumping the waste at the shoreline -- where they'll build up into mounds of waste at the more popular fishing lakes that will visually turn people off while stinking to the heavens

[packsaddle]

Bart, to modify an old joke, the difference between whirling disease and love is that whirling disease really IS forever. My wife smacks the back of my head when I tell that one, I just love it.

But in real life, there are several different directions, none of them really a cure but rather ways to adjust to the new reality. This involves trying to breed resistant strains of desired fish species, trying to modify the habitat to inhibit tubificid worms, and things like this. But basically, unless the parasites just go away we're going to have to live with them.

 

Boomerscout, I wish they all could be California gulls...

[nldscout]

It very well maybe that its based on some law. Here in NY, if you dump Fish entrails in the water you must be atleast 100 ft from the shore line. If your caught dumping them off the bank you can be punished with fines and surcharges of $425 and you can be incarcerated for 15 days.

 

We take our fish guts seriously up here!