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Re: shipping fish



The Post Office is the best way to go. There are 2 options: Priority Mail and 
Express Mail. The differences are:

Priority Mail: Normally takes 2-3 days at most and is cheapest. Up to 2 
pounds is $3.20. Estimate slightly over $1 for each additional pound.

Express Mail: Guaranteed to be there the next day by a a specified time (the 
PO sets the time). If the box arrives late,you get your money back. It costs 
more,but is often worth it for larger shipments or valuable fish.

When I send fish during the good weather,The fish are packed in bags as small 
as possible with as little water as possible. This minimizes the weight. The 
bags are packed on their sides in either a styro box or a sturdy cardboard 
one. Empty space is filled with styro peanuts. Packed this way,I can send up 
to 8-10 bags (1 fish per bag) for $5-$6 tops by Priority Mail. No heat pack 
is needed in good weather.

When I send fish in cooler weather (below 55 or so),I leave it up to the 
recipient whether they want to pay the extra for Express Mail,but I cannot 
guarantee live delivery without using that method. The fish are packed the 
same way,but this time I would use a heat 20 hour heat pack (either shipping 
method). The heatpack is activated and duct taped to the inside of the cover. 
The bags are covered by a few layers of newspaper to protect them from direct 
contact. The box is then sealed and taken directly to the PO (expensive or 
larger shipments go direct to the Main PO for the area,others to the local 
one). If sent by Express,the fish arrived in perfect shape.

If your shipment is within 400 miles,it generally goes by truck (Priority 
Mail). If the weather is warm,as it is in Texas,no heat pack is required. The 
package,if mailed in the morning may even arrive at the destination the next 
day. 

Jeff McKee