travel license or permits

[seattownreefer]

lets say you take the plane in the states visiting relatives and go to the local fish store and pick up a frag or two. gotta fly back home so do the airlines hassle you to take live aquarium on board? what if you go overseas, do you need a permit or licencse to take live items back to the states?


ive been to the bahamas and filled water bottles with live sand. the route to the airport and backhome was 2 days. opened and the sand didnt smell rotten so i dumped it in the aquarium. at the airport, i checked it in, double wrapped it.
also did this in the philippines. all the hassle i got was the look of the employees and the mean look my wife gave me.

going back to bahamas on a cruise.
can we take live animals or live rock back?

 

[macronut]

you should check with the local authorities of these countries prior to trying to take organisms home with you. The airlines are much stricter after 911. I'm sure rock is out of the question and I'm sure you should have some sort of legal document, as I wouldn't want to spend time in a foreign countries jail.

 

[seattownreefer]

yeah, when i was in boracay in philippines, at the departure gate there was this sign that said fine and jail time. had me sweating bullets. there was some live rock on the beach i put on my check in. had it wrapped in newspaper. they opened it and smelled the ocean. they let me pass.
how about the bahamas, has anybody traveled there to get live stuff to bring home, or any local pet stores?

 

[gman0526]

CITES permits for livestock.

 

[greenbean36191]

To legally bring in any corals or other CITES listed organisms like seahorses or even LR will require a CITES permit which will take a lot of time and money to get. Also any livestock you bring in from another country has to come through a designated port of entry and will require USDA and/or FWS permits and inspections. If you buy anything overseas you should also have the receipts handy to prove the origin. Customs might also give you problems with certain items like sand or rock since you aren't supposed to bring back soil, but that depends on the inspector. Usually they'll let you through if you just tell them it's marine sediment, not soil (they're trying to prevent introduction of invasive seeds and soil pests, so marine sediment doesn't really pose much threat).

Any travel within the US is subject to the normal TSA rules (3 oz of liquids in carry on) and any special rules the airline has.

You also have to comply with regulations in the country of origin. For the Bahamas that would mean getting permission from the minister of fisheries, which usually denies permission.