When I see "American", as in ALA, I think of the whole continent and not just the USA. Given that the US border somehow disagrees with that, I was wondering if the Canadian members of the ALA might want to check in with each other. I'm sure there are a few of us who don't know each other but who might be able to trade fish, etc. When it comes to information, participation and discussion, we're as well placed as anyone in the US, but when it comes to fish distribution, the picture's not as rosy. So who's out there? I'm Gary Elson, in the Montreal area.
While we are not too divided by a common language, we can communicate and share across the border, eh?
Seriously, there used to be a very active group of people from around Canada: Regina, Toronto, and other places that I can't recall. And if the mails work well in both countries, fish are shipable. I've even received fish from Canada over the years, and a number of very successful breeders have been active in Canada.
There seems to be a lot of people interested in livebearers out there. At a small local auction, I saw the following: Ameca splendens, Limia perugiae (two sellers, one sold them under their old name of Poecilia perugiae), fancy show guppies (of course), several varieties of swordtails; I sold some plumetail platies. There were more but I can't recall at the moment.
Lisa, you know all of the people we talk to on CAC. Is GaryE GaryofMontreal do you think? It sure sounds like it to me. Gary, if I understand correctly, trading fish legally across the border is a bit of a chore but I know that I have mailed a microworm culture to someone in Canada with no trouble at all. I made the declaration on the package using a postal service declaration form and it just went right through to PintoHawk in Alberta with no trouble at all.
It's possible they are one and the same. I guess we could just ask him.
Shipping fish is a big gamble. Sometimes they go through and other times they don't know what to do with them and hang on to them so long the fish end up dying. Generally speaking, it seem to be easiest to cross with the fish personally. Comparing them to microworms may not be the best example. Most people I know that used to mail fish up to Canada no longer do so due to problems with dealing with customs.
Yes I am. I'm 'me'. Technically, after having spoken to border personnel from Homeland Security and Fish and Wildlife, here's our dilemna. To export even one fish as a gift to a US friend, we are supposed to have a US importation permit ($170+) which has to be renewed annually. For each importation to the US, we must make an appointment with US Fish and Wildlife and meet an inspector. There is one guy between Buffalo and the Atlantic Coast. He inspects the shipment for a $55 fee. I brought fish from Canada to an AKA convention, and it was quite a time and money consuming process. We used a US based permit and collected a shipment together - it wasn't just my fish. For Canadians to bring fish in to our country, we declare them as ordinary goods and may be asked to show they are humanely packed. The hard-line on fish only goes one way. You may have gotten fish into the US otherwise, but that would have been luck, or poorly trained border guards who think the old, friendly and easy-going system is still in place. We could someday get a permit for say an ALA convention and cart our fish across in a collective export, but short term, it looks like our fish stay here and we trade east/west (or west/east). That's why I'm fishing for fellow Canadians here. ..
Oh, to add. The homeland security guy told me that if I ship to the US, and the shipment is flagged, the receiver is phoned and asked if he/she is expecting a shipment of live fish from Canada. If the answer is 'yes', the receiver is fined for illegal importation... Ah, bureaucracy.
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