Orange Beach fishermen reflect on ‘absurd' DEP regulations

Destin captains have an unlikely ally in the fight against the DEP as it targets fish cleaning on the harbor.

Usually competitors, boat captains in nearby Orange Beach, Ala., can’t understand the latest move by Florida regulators.

“That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard in my life,” said Orange Beach Capt. Patrick Ivie of the charter boat Intruder.

About 75 miles from Destin, Orange Beach claims to have the largest charter fishing fleet on the Gulf Coast — a claim also made by Destin. The captains there face many of the same trials that our captains face daily: rising fuel prices, a souring economy and stricter snapper regulations.

“The regulations have crushed us,” said longtime Orange Beach Capt. Don Walker. “And the economy is taking its toll.”

But as a handful of Destin boat captains take down their fish cleaning stations in the face of fines, Alabama anglers are scratching their heads.

“Fish live in the water ... it doesn’t make much sense,” Ivie said.

The DEP, however, maintains that the cleaning stations are not water dependent and cause “water quality” issues.

Darryl Boudreau, assistant director for the Northwest Florida Department of Environmental Protection says, “it’s human nature” for fishermen who are cleaning their fish over the harbor to “discard leftovers into the water,” which he says “degrades” the water quality.

Orange Beach, which has about the same number of charter boats in their association as Destin, has four main marinas and Ivie is docked at Zeke’s Landing Marina. At Zeke’s, he said, they have fish cleaning tables that are over water and some that are upland.
Ivie, who’s been a captain for seven years, explained they throw their fish carcasses in a tub, double bag them and then toss them in

the Dumpster. The Dumpster is emptied daily.

“Guts that fall ... go overboard,” he said.

Capt. Charles “Chip” Day of the Chipper Clipper also docks at Zeke’s.

Day has been fishing for 24 years. He said he used to fish out of Perdido Pass, where they ran the carcasses through a grinder.

“It’s a pain and it stinks,” to double bag the fish carcasses, “but it’s not that bad.”

Walker, a captain of 28 years who docks his boat the Lady D at Sportsman Marina in Orange Beach, said they had a fish grinder prior to Hurricane Ivan. Now they also double bag and toss their carcasses in the Dumpster.

However, Walker said their cleaning tables are on the docks over the water and if little scraps and blood fall into the water — “pinfish and crabs take care of all that stuff.”

And for environmental regulators to tell Destin captains they can’t clean fish over water, “That’s a bunch of B.S.,” Walker said. “It sounds like somebody is wanting to flex their muscles.

“It seems like every time you turn around, somebody is sticking their nose in your business,” he added. “Environmentalists are going overboard.”

Boudreau of the DEP says putting the carcasses in trash bags and tossing them in the Dumpster would work for Destin.

But he worries the fish fins are sharp and can cut through the bags, so he suggests a “bleach spray” to keep the odor down.

However, even with bagging the carcasses and putting them in the Dumpster, he says the tables in Destin would still have to go if they are over water.

“I know it’s part of the ambiance,” Boudreau said. But it is “one of those cumulative problems,”  where even blood and guts will “degrade” the water.