Transporting Fish Internationally

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Does anyone have any experience in Shipping fish?
I am due to move from the UK to Canada, and while I am aware that it might be easier to re-home in the UK but With my long-lived fish it would be the equivalent of re-homing a cat or a dog and I would much rather take them with me.
I am aware what I can/ Cannot import to Canada but what I am looking for is a shipping company or airline which would allow me to take them with me?

I would appreciate any help or advice people can give

 

[Colin_T]

Most airlines allow you to take fish onboard but they must be packed properly and will be stored in the cargo hold. You should check with the actual airline but the basics consist of the following.

Fish must be put into at least 2 bags. Fish go into a plastic bag that is sealed up and that bag goes into a second bag that is sealed up.

The bags with fish go into a foam or plastic esky/ cooler. The esky must be lined with a plastic bag to stop water leaks.

The esky must be sealed up with tape and have labels saying "Live Fish", the sender's name, and the address/ details of where they are going to.

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Do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate every day or two for a week before shipping. This provides cleaner water for the fish during transit.

Fish should be fasted for 24 hours before packing to reduce waste in the bag.

Have around 1/4 to 1/3 water in the bag and the rest oxygen. Less water means less weight and more oxygen. Less weight means it costs less to ship (airlines charge by weight).

You can add some Ammogon or Zeolite to the bag to help adsorb any ammonia that is produced. Just sprinkle a tablespoon into the bag.

You can add a bit of neutral block to the bag to help stabilise the pH if the fish come from water with a pH above 7.0.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Thanks Colin,

The packing side is easy I have all that sorted, I have packaged fish for fish farms to transport (national and international), when I used to work at a hatchery in Scotland.
The trouble i seem to be having at the moment is actually shipping them. And limited flights due to a certain unmentionable world issue...
Airlines are being less than helpful, and UK and CA Gov's are less than helpful as to what can go where. @Byron any ideas?

Now I know the TSA says you can put them in the cabin (UK and CA don't say anything about it, CA gov links to TSA website for animal transport) but that wouldn't be the best thing on a 7 hour flight with a polybox.

Air Transat say no pets other than cats and dogs (hold or cabin) Air Canada says they will ship cargo, but are still annoyingly vague on fish and BA don't mention a thing.

I have sent a few emails to see if any of the pet transport places who do cats/dogs might know any better ideas.
I have also tried to look at say, UPS or DHL, but there is some legislation in the UK which limits shipping of live animals and quite a few don't seem to like shipping animals

 

[Colin_T]

Will you be travelling with the fish or are you trying to send them separately?

If you are travelling with the fish then you should be able to put their esky on as normal baggage but in the pet section of the hold. Even if your not travelling with them you should also be able to put them in the pet section on any plane. The big issue will be covid19, which is making all the airlines nervous. We've already lost one (Virgin Airlines) in Australia.

Airlines don't like shipping pets of any type because owners get upset when the baggage crew lose their pet fluffy.

 

[Essjay]

There was a similar thread on another forum a few months ago pre Covid. It may be different now.

After a lot of research and contacting countless airlines, that person discovered that Iberian Airlines would allow fish in the cabin, but only on flights that were actually Iberian Airlines, not a code share, and they'd have to go via Madrid. Or Air Canada freight, but that means having a facility close at both ends of the journey.

 

[Gypsum]

It's easier to transport a horse on Transatlantic flights.

 

[Colin_T]

horses don't need to be quarantined for 6 months either

 

[Gypsum]

Nope. Not even one if you know how to play the system.

 

[Byron]

I was specifically asked in post #3 but I cannot offer anything as to airlines, etc. But I will say that one of my local stores earlier this week notified customers on its online list that shipments of live fish into Canada were often being re-routed from normal entry points, and delays of 24 hours or more were normal, and since certain fish cold not survive this, the store would not be importing for the present. I just mention this as a caution that nothing can be guaranteed at this time. I personally would not ship elderly fish. I moved last year and my 10+ year fish all made it except for one or two, but I was lucky. I coould see from their subsequent behaviours that the move had severely stressed them, and some like my 9-year old dwarf chain loaches have never fully recovered/returned to their former selves.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Thanks all for the advice I think things are finally looking about right with the shipping and it seems that i will have to go through a pet travel company rather than pack myself. I will outline my experience in a thread for future people when I am done.

@Byron, thanks for the info that is something to consider, here in the UK most are going through heathrow (London) so I will have the added fun of taking them from Glasgow to London then on to Toronto (hopefully) as cant go direct to Vancouver at the moment.
All the fish I have will all live over 20 years at least so I think as long as it's done right it should be ok . I have others that live less or are smaller, i am re-homing as i don't feel it is ethical to ship those.
But young fish (>3) which live to over 20, they should outlive my cat and no one would suggest re-homing the cat.

Byron are you on the Island, or in Vancouver itself? My partner has a job on the Island, so I am looking for fish clubs and good LFS around Courtnay or Naniamo?

 

[Byron]

Thanks all for the advice I think things are finally looking about right with the shipping and it seems that i will have to go through a pet travel company rather than pack myself. I will outline my experience in a thread for future people when I am done.

@Byron, thanks for the info that is something to consider, here in the UK most are going through heathrow (London) so I will have the added fun of taking them from Glasgow to London then on to Toronto (hopefully) as cant go direct to Vancouver at the moment.
All the fish I have will all live over 20 years at least so I think as long as it's done right it should be ok . I have others that live less or are smaller, i am re-homing as i don't feel it is ethical to ship those.
But young fish (>3) which live to over 20, they should outlive my cat and no one would suggest re-homing the cat.

Byron are you on the Island, or in Vancouver itself? My partner has a job on the Island, so I am looking for fish clubs and good LFS around Courtnay or Naniamo?

I live in Greater Vancouver now, and since 1988. Prior to that, I lived in Victoria on Vancouver Island. I did know the two good stores in Victoria, but one of those closed back in the 1990's, the other was Specht's Aquarium which was good, but I know that the owner (the son of the founder) sold it in the 1990's so no idea if it is still there or not; I just did a search and the links went nowhere, so may be gone now. I'm not aware of any fish stores up island, but there may be.

There was a fiish club in Victoria, the only one on VI in the 1980's, I was President for a while, but after I moved to Van I believe I heard it ended for lack of interest. There are two quite good societies in Vancovuer. Contacting them might dig out some info on Victoria or Vancouver Island. I don't belong to either because I live in Maple Ridge and with my poor health issues I cannot travel in for meetings.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

I live in Greater Vancouver now...

Thanks i will have a look into it all when I am sat in a house during my 2 weeks quarantine! Moving in Covid times is not an easy thing.

 

[Colin_T]

Thanks i will have a look into it all when I am sat in a house during my 2 weeks quarantine! Moving in Covid times is not an easy thing.

Moving any time is bad enough but during covid19, that is horrible. I don't envy you at all. Good luck getting everything sorted.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Moving any time is bad enough but during covid19, that is horrible. I don't envy you at all. Good luck getting everything sorted.

Thanks, My contract with work ends in Sept but I cant even get back to the university so we have been allowed to work from anywhere. My partners contract ended in May so it wasn't the best time for things to be ending, but these things happen.
I have to say it has been a very good time for me to write my papers! it's rare to get this type of break from the lab in science.

 

[Colin_T]

I have to say it has been a very good time for me to write my papers! it's rare to get this type of break from the lab in science.

I heard similar comments from other scientists too. I reckon in about 12 months there will be thousands of papers released by scientists around the world.