Transporting fish across US-Canada border?

[kebuchan]

Hi all,

We're in Toronto for the week, from Cincinnati, OH. Wondering if anyone has transported fish into the US from Canada or Mexico? I found stuff online but it seems to apply to commercial imports not personal. If I brought anything back home to the US it would be just a few freshwater fish for personal "use".

If anyone's done this before I would really like to hear about your experience with US Customs.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Zerileous]

if the fish is a highly invasive species, you might have some trouble, but most species should be fine. I don't have any direct experience with transporting fish, but I know that this is generally custom's paradigm.

[RobbieG]

I would absolutely not try to do anything that might confuse customs - if something is not allowed they just say so and tell you to get rid of it - if they don't know you sit there while they figure it out.

[Algenco]

I believe any livestock has to have a certificate of health

[Tilmo2180]

In my border crossing expirience its best to not say anything at all about it. When they ask about fruits or vegtables just say no and continue on your merry way. When i tried to declare what i had (stuff that was okay to take across the border) all i ended up with was a 3 hour wait while they made a pile of all my crap. They then left said pile in a pile and went back inside..."welcome to Canada". I was then left to sort through it all and put it away(another 1.5 hours wasted)
So IMO "Shhhh...no one will ever know if you dont tell them".
I could be wrong though.

[kufan]

Probably the best thing to do is call the US Custom offices, and they would be able to give you the exact answer to your question.

KU