Manitoba ice fishers denounce 'disgusting' problem of litter, human waste left on frozen waterways

Manitoba outdoor enthusiasts are calling on ice fishers to make sure they pick up after themselves — and to make sure they have a plan for when nature calls.

Rick Gergatz, the administrator of the Lake Winnipeg Ice Report Facebook group, recently posted an article about ice fishing etiquette, with thousands of people now heading out to rivers and lakes in the province.

He says a big problem, especially on Lake Winnipeg, is that ice fishers sometimes don't have a plan for what to do when they inevitably have to use the washroom and leave their human waste on the ice or the shore.

"If we're talking about thousands of people on the lake, well it becomes more of an issue. We get upset when there's raw sewage dumped in the river from the city — this is the same thing," Gergatz said in a Friday interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio.

"It's not a sanitary thing."

LISTEN | When nature calls, have a plan, ice fisherman says:

People often also leave their trash on the ice, including propane canisters and beer cans, Gergatz said.

"There's nothing more discouraging than being two miles out on the lake, not a soul around, and see a minnow bucket floating by you in the wind," he said.

"It's just a matter of being respectful of the environment, being respectful for the other people around you."

Katherine Seed has a cabin in the Winnipeg Beach area. When she and her husband go out to ice fish, they pick up their own trash, as well as others' — sometimes more than a garbage bag's worth, she said.

This year the garbage problem has actually gotten worse, because of the milder weather drawing more people out onto the ice, said Seed.

"I find it disgusting. I find it very disturbing, actually," she told CBC Manitoba's Radio Noon on Friday.

"We pick up beer cans, alcohol bottles, wrappers from McDonald's, wrappers from Tim Hortons, coffee cups — you name it, it's out there."

And whatever garbage she doesn't pick up off the ice in the winter "ends up on our shoreline, so we end up picking it up in spring," she said.

Seed also wants fellow ice fishers to remember to take their trash with them when they leave the ice, and dump it either in garbage cans along the lake or at home.

"There's no excuse to be in your little hut there, have a beer ... throw it on the ice and leave it. It's stupidity."