Cleaning Fish

[berserker]

I am hoping some of you can help me out with this one. Especially the charter captains should give me good insight. A few weeks ago a buddy of mine, who is docked on Grand River, said that they were getting cited for cleaning fish near the water. Eventhough they bagging up all waste and throwing it away,they were still ticketed. Apparently it is illegal to clean any fish on the boat even when docked or clean fish near the water.
I am docked in Port Clinton and I usually clean my fish at the dock or on the boat, the charter captains also clean their fish next to their boats at their own cleaning stations. Has anyone been cited yet at western end docks for cleaning fish? My marina provides freezers for the fish waste and I have never seen anyone throw waste into the lake. What is the deal with this? I just want to know if chances are good I get a citation this weekend for cleaning perch at my dock.

[CAPTBRIAN]

I have never herd of this. Do you know what they sited the person for?

[CAPTBRIAN]

I checked a few ways under the Ohio Revised Code and cant find anything about not being able to do so.

[fish/n/chics]

I saw a rule under general fishing regulation..on odnr site..rule listed as oac 1501:31. Said no cleaning of fish on a waterway or no cleaned fillets.. this might be the one your looking for.. just guessing here..

[Perryd]

Do not clean fish before you get to dock! DNR has no way of knowing what or how many fish were caught.

[berserker]

i have never cleaned fish on the lake but I usually clean them back at the dock on my boat. I was just checking if that is illegal. There are sheriff and Div. Watercraft docked nearby. I was affraid to ask them, rather beg forgiveness than ask permission kind of thing...

[berserker]

I will find out what the full story is, I have not been able to get a hold of my buddy. I will get back to you on this.

[wakina]

Was checked by an ODNR officer twice this year while cleaning fish at the cleaning station at Paradise Acres on Beef Creek which runs into the 2-saint river. Nothing was said but he only asked a couple of questions and counted my fish cleaned and uncleaned and I was not sighted for any violations. So there must be more to the story than meets the eye.

[berserker]

my buddy has a dock on Ram island of Grand River. It is in the fishing regulations and it states that no cleaning of fish or processing fish is allowed on or near a body of water. It seems that the division of wildlife is now enforcing that rule on the Grand River and on Chagrin River. He said that the division of wildlife has gone to many, many boaters in those areas and made it very clear that if they are caught cleaning fish in unapproved cleaning stations, they will be cited. If they have a cleaning station, it has to be totally self contained and none of the waste or water can flow into the river/lake. They cannot even clean fish blood off knives in the lake water. He believes that is stems from the yacht owners or pleasure boaters complaining they dont want to see fish being cleaned. Someone must have complained, now the division of wildlife has chosen to enforce the law in those areas, for now. So if you dock n fish in those areas, you might want to watch out for "the man."

[berserker]

check the rule book we get when we buy a license. It is in there.