ADFG: Discarding Fish Waste Will Draw Fines

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Illegally Dumped Fish Waste Invites Bears, Fines

July 29, 2024 (Anchorage) – With southcentral Alaska salmon fisheries well underway, anglers and dipnetters are reminded to dispose of fish waste properly. Discarding fish waste on public or private property or along roads, pull-offs, and trails can attract bears into residential areas and result in fines ranging from $300 to $1,000.

In Anchorage, home to nearly 300,000 people, fish waste is illegally discarded each year in vacant lots, greenbelts, and along city streams and lakeshores. Anchorage area wildlife biologist Cory Stantorf believes many people who dump fish waste don’t realize the danger they create for others.

“Improper disposal of fish carcasses can and will draw bears to neighborhoods,” said Stantorf, “and brown bears, particularly, may aggressively defend those food sources.”

The problem isn’t limited to Anchorage. Illegally discarded fish waste also sets the stage for human- bear conflicts in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and on the Kenai Peninsula. Illegal dumping is prohibited under Alaska’s littering laws.

Anglers and dipnetters who clean fish on-site should chop carcasses into numerous pieces and throw them into fast-moving water. Those who remove fish from the fishing site and fillet or process them elsewhere should consider the following recommendations:

• If allowed, fish waste should be taken directly to a waste transfer station or to the landfill. Another option is to freeze fish waste to eliminate odors and then place it out with garbage on the morning of trash pickup. Do not place waste out the night before pickup.
• The Central Peninsula Landfill located at Mile 98.5 Sterling Highway 2.5 miles south of Soldotna accepts fish waste free of charge from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. seven days a week in summer.

• Fish waste can also be deposited at Kenai Peninsula transfer facilities, including those in Cooper Landing, Kasilof, and Ninilchik, but in smaller quantities; all fish waste must be double-bagged in plastic trash bags with a limit of two bags dropped off per day.
• Anchorage Regional Landfill, the city’s Central Transfer Station, and the Girdwood Transfer Station all accept residential, non-commercial fish waste.

• Matanuska-Susitna Borough Solid Waste accepts small quantities of non-commercial fish waste (less than 150 pounds) at the Central Landfill located at N. 49th State Street in Palmer. Must be double-bagged and tied in leak-proof bags. For more information, call 907-861- 7801.

Media Contact: For more information contact Anchorage area wildlife biologist Cory Stantorf at cory.stantorf@alaska.gov (907-267-2811), or sportfish biologist Donnie Arthur at Donald.arthur@alaska.gov (907-267-2225).