westcoastman

In the past we have had difficulty taking food out of Hawaii through the airport. Can anyone tell me the procedure for mailing fresh fish and/or fruits to the mainland when we are there? I imagine if you cut up fruit is would be ok to take through the airport. And I am not talking about tyipcal stuff like pineapples or coconuts either but some of the unique and traditional Asian fruit from Chinatown that we cannot get fresh on the mainland.
Fruit may be impossible but I would love to send some fresh fish home if it is not too costly.

bocastephen

Whereas the restrictions on bringing items INTO Hawai'i make sense, I could never understand why they are so strict about taking fruit and food OUT of Hawai'i.

I don't understand why they care so much - it should be up to the state or country the person is flying to whether or not they can bring food or such with them.

However, to answer the OP, fruit tagged for export is OK to take with you... I'm not sure about fish, other to say you should freeze it, pack it in dry ice and ship it overnight if it's not flying with you the same day.

One thing I'm not sure of - whether or not postal/Fedex/UPS packages go through agri screen on their way out. If not, you can just wrap your fruit to keep it safe, put it in a Fedex box or USPS Priority Mailer and send it to yourself.

westcoastman

I was told it was because the lack of pesticides in Hawaii means a threat of transporting non-native bugs in either direction.

bocastephen

If someone doesn't notice a giant centipede or cane spider sitting on their pineapple or passionfruit, they have a bigger problem

Solution - clear fruit at the airport by spraying it with or dipping it in a pesticide at the ag station.

Mary2e

I've gotten fruit out (papayas), but it hasn't been via the plane I'm flying on. I simply cannot understand the prohibition, particularly when I'm on a non-stop to NJ in the dead of winter.

I called the HI dept of Ag, and there is nowhere on the islands to bring your fruit to be inspected/cleared for flight. The only places to "legally" buy fruit for transport is from one of those overpriced fruit companies. What a racket

FWIW - the Ag dept told me pineapples are the only fruits that you can buy in the supermarket and take on a plane uninsepcted.

gregorygrady

I think you can FedEx fresh fish out of Hawaii. We almost did this when my wife caught a 32 lb Ono on a half-day deep-sea fishing trip off Kona. As mentioned above, they said we could pack it with dry ice and take it to FedEx for shipment. We decided it might take up the whole rest of our day so instead we took it to a Greek Restaurant by the ocean and they cooked it up for us for lunch. Since they were taking the fishing poles down as we were returning into the harbour when my wife's Ono bit, the Ono went from in the sea and onto our plates in less than an hour. Best fish we've ever had. ^

FTraveler

Citrus fruit growers in California and Florida are afraid of the potential for crop damage from the mediterranean fruit fly which can be found throughout Hawaii. The USDA, not the State of Hawaii, restricts the export of fruit from Hawaii. Papayas exported out of State are irradiated.

Nadja Calcote

We are going to Kona too and hopefully be catching some fish. What fishing carter di you guys take gregory? Which Greek restaurant?

Eastbay1K

And of course, it is 100% guaranteed that you and your papaya stay in NJ, and 100% guaranteed that there will never be irrops causing you to land in CA and ruining our agriculture industry.

philemer

You are responding to an 7-8 year old post so you may be "swimming against the current". I can't think of an existing Greek rest. in the Kona/Kohala area now. You can find a Big Fish List here: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/sport...sh-list-dec-19 We've used Sea Wife a couple times and they are good. Most boats require that you rent the entire boat but a few, like Sea wife, allow you the share the boat with others. Prices for 4 hrs run about $110-115/each.

bocastephen

When doing a fishing charter in Hawaii, make sure you negotiate who keeps the catch - on many boats, the catch is owned by the Captain, especially anything valuable. He might let you keep a few small mahi-mahi for grilling at your hotel, but if you are lucky enough to reel in a $50,000 tuna, unless you negotiate ownership before the charter, in many cases that won't be the customer's tuna.

philemer

True that. The last fish I caught was filleted on the dock and split between everyone on the boat. We each got about 2-3 pounds of Ono. It was the only fish caught so I was glad everyone got dinner.