TRAVERSE CITY — Richard Hines plans to drive an empty truck to Traverse City today, and hopes to leave with a load of free salmon.
Hines envisions filling the truck with 600 pounds of salmon at the American Canadian Fisheries facility in Garfield Township, after which he'll run it back to the Amvets Post 114 in Elk Rapids to help feed hungry locals.
American Canadian Fisheries contracts with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on the seasonal salmon harvest and donates whole fish to area veterans groups, food pantries and charities.
"We did a mess of it last year at the VFW in Traverse City," Hines said. "This was to feed hungry people, not just veterans."
Last week, Hines picked up the season's first batch of salmon from the American Canadian Fisheries facility off Cass Road. He fillets and freezes the fish, then disperses them to those in need of food.
It doesn't hurt that area weirs are teeming with chinook and coho right now. Thousands of the state's premier sport fish this week battled the current in Traverse City's Boardman River, the end of the road for salmon that naturally die after the spawning run.
"There's just a lot of fish this year," said John Zollner, American Canadian Fisheries' manager. "This year is huge. We're noticing the fish are bigger this year, too."
Crews plan to harvest the Boardman River weir today, the fifth large-scale fish removal there this season. The first four harvests generated nearly 12,000 chinook and coho, an "astronomical difference" from last year, Zollner said.
American Canadian Fisheries harvests salmon for human and pet food markets, as well as excess eggs for the bait market. A handful of stores across the state, including three in Wellston, sell salmon taken from DNR weirs.
Only whole salmon may be donated, and American Canadian Fisheries can't fillet fish because the company doesn't have a food handler's permit. A food safety inspector with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development visited the facility this week after the agency received complaints about salmon being filleted there.
Zollner said that was a "misunderstanding" and the company will keep on donating whole salmon.
"They can continue to distribute the fish with the VFW as long as they are in the round, meaning it hasn't been cut," said Jennifer Holton, department spokeswoman.
State officials continue to investigate the complaints, Holton said.
"We are going to be working with the facility to identify both short-term and long-term solutions moving forward," she said.
Hines said he appreciates the donated salmon, but disagrees with state policies that prevent American Canadian Fisheries from also dispersing cut fish.
"It just doesn't make any sense to me," he said. "They're just going to end up as cat food or die and stink up the area. There are people that need this."
