Checking Fish-in a cooler? Dry ice? HELP!
 

So I am in south Florida, and going to do a little (lot of?) sportfishing. I am looking at possibly bringing home some fish. I am confused with CO.com-

Here (http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...age/check.aspx) it says that in F I will get 3 checked bags-up to 70lbs each free-assume that is still correct.

But how to transport it???

Here (http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...e/fragile.aspx) it says that dry ice needs to be in a "vented" container "properly marked". Where do I get a vented container? It also says there that seafood can not be packed in "wet ice". Does this mean I can not put it in a cooler and have it on ice???


Here are my plans-get a GOOD igloo cooler-one of the 5 day keepers, and pack it with fish (in bags) and ice (not dry ice) also in bags. Then DUCT TAPE the h*ll out of it!!! Will tape off the drain too. I am fishing on Friday-leave on the 330pm Saturday-will have the fish in my freezer by 9pm Saturday! Anyone ever do this? Will CO accept it????

My concern is that CO says no wet ice-I am assuming that means slopping around in water-and a vented container for dry ice. UGH!

THOUGHTS???

Just did a quick search, this company looks like they have vented containers for sale http://www.frozenontime.com/ as far as shipping it with just regular ice I agree that CO is saying no go on that.

I don't have first-hand experience, but I'd say the "wet ice" means ordinary ice. It'll definitely melt and become 'wet ice'. I've seen the EPS (White, crummy) coolers packed with dry ice & shipped on other airlines, but don't know how CO would treat this. With these coolers, you could easily punch a few holes to make it 'vented'.

Just save everyone else and don't go skimpy on the dry ice! I was in YUL a few weeks ago waiting for my bag to come off of the belt and it REEKED of old fish. I said that if my bag smelled, there would be hell to pay! Luckily it must have been on a different flight because my bag was fine!

You might want to contact CO and get some more specific information because dry ice is considered "dangerous goods" and thus carries restrictions on how much and where it can be carried. IIRC, you can have up to 5lbs per container.

Dry ice is a no-no. And apparantly regualr ice is a no-no (at the security checkpoint) if you want to carry it on board. A family friend lives on the Gulf Coast and likes to bring us shrimp when he visits (he flies CO btw). TSA (which is the authority in this matter) may not notice if you check your baggage. However, if you encase the cooler in duct tape, that probably will give them a red flag to look inside it, since you're not suppose to hand them "locked" luggage. The only thing I'd suggest is transporting your fish in ice to the airport, dump the ice out before going through security, then once you're through security, give one of the vendors there $5 bucks or so and ask them to fill up your cooler with ice again. Our friend freezes his shrimp before he leaves, and it surprisingly doesn't defrost all the way before he arrives in CA.

Frozen carrots, frozen peas, frozen pepper, work great! I used to take beef to Florida in a maxcool cooler and used 2 blueice(the ice gel) and then the rest frozen veggies. The luggage misconnected due to a weather delay on my connection, and I got it the next day once still perfectly frozen(the veggies a bit soft I had to cook them)

I second the idea of hitting up the frozen food section. Frozen peas are as cold as it gets. Good luck fishing.........

Here's our definitive answer: Take Capri Sun packets (equal weight to fish as in 1 pound fish, 1 pound Capri Suns), remove straws and freeze the packets. Get any Igloo cooler that is as least 2/3 inch thick. Layer fish and Capri Suns in cooler. Make sure to place a thermometer in the middle and one at where the fish meets the Igloo. Seal with tape and lots of business cards. Drop off at check in. We've found from past baggage delays that the fish/igloo thermometer will read around 37F after 40 hours (i.e. a one day baggage delay). Good luck!

Living in Micronesia I always take frozen fish out of Micronesia and frozen food INTO Micronesia (so few damn stores).

Fish, fully frozen, in ice chests the 5 day cooler types can stay for the required 72 hours (CO has lost frozen and I've gotten them back later still frozen). Out here in CoMic land we have to wrap in plastic inside the cooler, then wrap the cooler in plastic also.

When we do frozen eel or other items sometimes we will take coconut milk and sugar and such make a local drink and put those in one gallon zip lock bags, it is not ice but the same dang thing, and double ziplock them up and we are good for ice that way.

For Platinum in CoMic land on international tickets as everything I do is international, if I'm in coach (never) I get two ice chests. When I am up front I get three luggage and I'm allowed three ice chests frozen or chill or whatever. I just argued these with CO mgmt in Guam as Honolulu Station had set their own rules and even a Red Coat was wrong on the rules.

So I would FOR SURE get this rule clarified and put in your PNR as contract employees and as I found out the RED COATS do not know the rules. Also the rules for CoMic land might be a little different but I doubt it. If you are in F you should get 3 at 70.

You are only allowed like 4 kg of dry ice and that is a waste of time. We never ship with dry ice out here. You can not ship with ice at all but our frozen drink mix has never been questioned at all. And works just like ice. We call it Ice Schemet (spelling is probably off) but it's coconut milk, sugar, and condensed milk and water.... good tasting and perfect ice cube if you want it. Again one gallon zip lock work GREAT. Just double wrap it up.

Questions???

Vented cooler=one with a drain plug. Stroform coolers are a no go container
wet ice=regular ice you use for drinks
dry ice=you are allowed up to 5 lbs per container. This is considered a
dangerous goods and must be declared. Dry ice sucks the oxygen from the
cargo area therefore anything containing dry ice can not be placed near
live animals. It can also burn on contact. CO does not mind you using it
but we must know about it and you will need to fill out some paperwork.

Because you will not want to be liable for any spills, place a plastic wrap inside your cooler to contain any possible leaks/spills. All the ideas for how to keep your items cold/frozen are good ones.

You also have a 35 dollar charge for dry ice if I'm not mistaken and there is a requirement that seafood is wrapped in plastic. So it's not you should wrap it to avoid liability, you have to wrap it. And then it must be in a leak proof container on top of that (cooler).

"A $35.00 handling service charge applies to the transportation of dry ice as checked baggage."

"Seafood will be accepted only if it is wrapped in a sealed protective material and packed in a leak-proof container."

Thanks for the hints!!
 

Ok-thanks to EVERYONE for the hints.

I am going to ask the front desk to freeze me about 6 boxes of caprisun packs.

We are fishing on Friday, leaving on saturday, so the fish wont be frozen. I plan to ice them down overnight, then empty the chests. I will then layer caprisun and frozen peas (purchased Saturday am) around the chest-with the fresh fish.

I plan on NOT duct taping the package until I get to the check in counter, as that may make them less concerned with the "no ice" factor.

I have found 5lb blocks of dry ice-wonder if that will be useful-as 5 lb is the max-or just go the peas/caprisun route???


Thanks again!!! Looking forward to my Mahi-Mahi fishing!

CoCo/commercial props generally don't allow dry ice at all, so if you have a prop job connection, don't even consider dry ice. Personally I'd just go the no extra fees caprisun/frozen veggie route, it works well!

Very timely thread.. thank you. I have the same issue, but not with fish.

I'm going to need to transport uncooked meat & some liquid to Kauai. My original thoughts were to freeze it all and then pack it in dry ice. With a $35 charge for dry ice, well, I may just take that 5 day cooler suggestion and just pack everything frozen with some peas thrown in for good measure.

We will be arriving in HNL on the non-stop, which arrives after dark, and connecting a few hours later to LIH, so I don't think heat will be much of an issue.

I was also thinking of 2nd day air-ing it, again, frozen, but since alot of it is liquid, it would probably be expensive.

Any thoughts on my plans?

I do the island hopper to HNL then to IAH then to Tampa... frozen fish that is deep freeze for a few days will stay frozen until arrival in Tampa without extra ice or such, at most I'll do my frozen liquid thingy but mostly that is for our drinking. This is a 1 pm departure 3 am arrival in HNL, night time departure out of HNL, morning departure IAH to Tampa... That's a long journey without freezing the things during transport.

So going NJ to HNL to the outer islands should be a non issue.

From Tampa to IAH to HNL, I will store my cooler in a hotel freezer then take the next morning on the island hopper back to the islands. Not a problem that way either.

Remember, your frozen goods must be able to stay frozen for 72 hours... incase of baggage loss. If items are really completely frozen and packed in 5 day coolers they last no issue. I do this 8 trips a year minimum (so 16 times as frozen goes both ways) for the last 15 + years.

I will say buying items out of a grocery store freezer does not mean they are deeply frozen. I always try to get items and freeze them myself for two days ahead of time minimum to make sure they are completely frozen.

2nd day air??? Frozen??? I would not consider it personally. I think you are very safe without the dry ice and would just check it in. My 2 cents.