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[APD] Fishy story



Michael McGrath wrote:

>> Sounds like a nice story. Where did this come from? Sounds like one of
those great internet hoaxes.<<

Dunno about that, but a number of the "fish facts" are clearly wrong.  LOTS
of fish recognise their owners.  I had a panther grouper who went on a
hunger strike when we went on vacation because he wouldn't accept food from
anyone but me.<g> The first time it happened, he scared the house sitter to
pieces. Every time she tried to tempt him to eat, he would roll over on his
side and turn black-ish all over.  When I got home, she very gravely told me
that "Spot" was very, very sick.  I went in to look at him, expecting the
worst.  He took one look at me, got up off the bottom, brightened up, and
started begging for food.  He almost took my fingers off along with the big
scallop I offered him.

I've transported fish across the country and from other continents.  All
have been x-rayed and none have been any worse for the experience.  Many
have even reproduced after the experience with no obvious problems or
abnormalities.

OTOH, melodrama aside, there have been occasional problems with people
transporting fish by air for years, long before 9/11.  It seems to have much
more to do with overly-officious individual employees than airline policy.
I once took a fully planted 2 1/2 gallon aquarium (water drawn down low, but
fish in residence) onto a plane, with no more than some excited curiousity
among the security staff as it went through the x-ray.  But I've also heard
of people getting a real run-around about fish too.

These days, if I take fish on a plane, I put them in my carry on, and don't
say a word.  If they ever asked me about them, I would certainly discuss the
matter, but I've never had them even say they noticed the bags in the x-ray.
There's nothing I've ever seen in the regulations that says that I can't
carry them or that I need to declare them.  In fact, the only thing that
seems to attract their attention invariably is my universal card reader.
Don't ask me why, but they don't seem to be able to identify the shape, and
always want to see it.  So I always make sure THAT is NOT in the carry-on
with the fish ;-)

Karen


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