Someone dumped hundreds of processed fish carcasses by Ralph's Road in Naknek. Bristol Bay Borough police are investigating this littering case.
Bristol Bay Borough police received a report Wednesday of a large pile of fish guts dumped off Ralph’s Road in Naknek. Alaska Wildlife Troopers determined that this is not a case of wanton waste. The scraps from hundreds of fish appear to be processed and the fillets removed. Police chief Stanley Swetzoff says police are investigating this as a littering case.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. From what I heard yesterday, we have a fish grinder down at the borough dock, and that was out for maintenance yesterday. I think people that normally bring their fish carcasses down there to be ground up just didn’t have anywhere to take them. So they went down the road and dumped them off the side of the road is what is seems like to me,” says Swetzoff.
Police will investigate further before they determine who will clean up the stinky mess. At this point, safety is the department's biggest concern. People walk the road from Peterson Point to town, and a pile of fish guts is likely to draw bears.
Swetzoff says the evidence suggests the culprit is likely a small processor, but they do not have any suspects. Borough police are asking anyone with information to call the Bristol Bay Borough Police Department at 907-246-4222.
Contact the author avery@kdlg.org or 907-842-5281.
