fish on a plane....

[Scott nthQld]

Well I had a few rellies up from Wollongong over the last week, with them leaving over Monday/Tuesday.

So after having my cousin out on a reef trip with me, i obliged and paked him, and my Grandfather up a few fillets of reefies and Spaniards. Fillets were frozen solid and wrapped in Newspaper for the 3-4hr trip from Townsville the Sydney, and then the drive back to Wollongong.

There was no issues at my end on getting on the plane, with the airport staff just asking how they were packed, with ice or without etc, all was good and they were let through.

However, upon arrival in Sydney airport, all passengers were told to dispose of all fruit and vegetables AND FISH, before leaving the terminal. Well my rellies ignored them and proceeded home without a drama.

Now, I can understand the fruit and vegies part as some produce from NQ is also grown in NSW and they want to avoid the spreading of pests and disease etc. But fish? NSW doesn't get these species (trout, nannygai, red emperor) and they had been processed, ie filleted and frozen.

Being a domestic (though interstate) flight, why would they want to stop processed fish from being taken off flights?

Also why single out fish? If they want to stop contamination of their resources why not stop chicken, lamb and other meat produce being transported this way by passengers?



Anyway, long story short, my rellies kept their fish, and it was still frozen solid after about 4 hrs out of the freezer, just wrapped in copious amounts of news paper and put into one of those woolies blue soft cooler bags, inside the rest of their luggage.

[Noelm]

I have bought stuff back to Sydney heaps of times and never ever had that problem, there is another thread here somewhere about it.

[zigfreed]

I have regularly done Coffs-Syd-Canberra and Bris-Syd-Canberra over the last fifteen years taking fish down to my mum and never even heard of this one.

Maybe there is a snapper flu being incubated somewhere....................

Mick

[Scott nthQld]

yeah well thats what has stumped me, its the first I've ever heard of it too, and I've taken fish down myself when I've visited.

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and if they know why? I mean its not exactly a quarantine issue is it.

Hell when going through security, my aunt, who was also with them, had some in her hand luggage (packed the same way) and security here in Townsville even let her know I missed a couple of bones!

and there'd be no snapper flu, they didn't have any, and any of the long finned variety were used as bait during the reef trip....use red to catch red.

We sent some down with them after showing them how much it cost up here to buy ($35-50 a kilo depending where you went) and showing them how good it tastes

[GBC]

I won't let my mate from Karratha visit without a broccoli box of cray tails as carry on luggage.

[sandbankmagnet]

was there any pig fish in them?

[sleepygreg]

as for the newspaper wrapping. Thats how we used to pack our frozen fish way back when dad used to take us on our annual holiday to Dunbogan. We would go there for three weeks and freeze enough fillets to fit in a 55lt esky to bring home. They would be wrapped in layers of newspaper, and packed in the esky without ice (no room for ice - also only a small freezer at home). They would survive the 6 hour road trip (probably add up to 8 hours out of the freezer given packing and unpacking time) without any hint of thawing.

As for the regs re taking frozen fish into Sydney ........ the airlines even designate methods of transporting them....have taken many frozen fish from Tas, Qld, SA into both Sydney and Brisbane without any problems. Usually in polystyrene boxes all taped up and clearly labelled......am waiting for the next one to go missing..hasnt happened yet...fingers crossed.

Greg

[cormorant]

We use foam box and techni ice but use "medical sample " tape to seal it. Never had a theft . Wonder why??


Phone up the airport quarantine guys and ask. The fines will be steep if we are doing something wrong.

Maybe it was a airbus flight and they are just being cautious as they might have landed in the water and released.

[aussiefool]

Long time ago I was going to take some fish with me to Darwin for Mum and Dad. I Virgin to get the low down on how they wanted them packed and was told that as they were fish I would have to get clearance from quarantine.Rang quarantine and was told as long as they were dead and for human consumption then there was no problem, was even told to bury any fish that we did not eat as it could introduce bugs into the waterways.

Aussiefool
Andrew

[borisdog]

When I first met my missus she was living in Melbourne and I was in Kununurra.

I'll never forget the first time I took a frozen whole Barra down in July. Wrapped up in newspaper and a garbage bag, only a little bloke about 650mm.

Took 3 days to thaw out in the bath. That was my introduction to the subtle differences between Northern and Southern Australia.

[Chezzy13]

Maybe there is a snapper flu being incubated somewhere....................

Mick


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