[Killietalk] RE: Shipping fish by air

["Koran, David HQ02" <David_Koran at hq02.usace.army.mil>]

Working back the other way, I haven't tried to ship or receive fish in months
but the following information might be helpful.  When I acquired my
import/export license from US F&W last year I had to call the main office
near JFK to "answer some questions".  I was surprised to learn that the
"question" was whether or not I was aware of the IATA regulations for
shipping via air cargo.  Without looking it up, IATA stands for something
like the International Aircargo Transport Association.  The F&W official said
that the IATA rules only covered "within the plane things" and such stuff as
boxes sitting on the tarmac for hours or poor airline staffing was out of
anyone's control.  Basically what you needed to be aware of was the shipping
container.  It had to prevent leakage and be sturdy enough to hold weighted
objects stacked on top of it.

I would think many of the problems we experience comes from lack of proper
packaging or our demonstration that we have sturdy boxes or that we have done
everything to prevent leakage.  The wild card in all of this is utilizing a
third party in shipping via air.  I am going out on a limb and suggesting the
issue is the heating of the cargo hold.  This is probably a factor in the
"known shipper" rule of FedEx or having USPS request special treatment for
your "cargo".  The shipping of "cold blooded" animals like fish, reptiles and
Bush administration officials doesn't seam to apply to heating the cargo
hold.

If you extrapolate this to flying with fish you need to cite the IATA rules
and show that your container is sturdy and leak resistant and that your fish
are packed to prevent leaks.  While this is no guarantee you won't experience
problems, I have found that it pretty much eliminates them, however, I always
allow extra time when traveling with fish, am stern but courteous with the
check-in folks and always request a hand check of the fish at the security
screening.

You should also be aware (at least it was for overseas shipping) that most of
the new postal scales will display the regulations for the clerk when they
punch in a zip code or country to which you are shipping.  As I had stated in
the past, shipping of live fish to Europe is forbidden; however, water
samples with large "microfauna" somehow gets skipped.  Of course there is a
sloshing sound of "water samples" just as you mark on the box and
declaration.

Dave Koran


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