You are a fishing enthusiast and want to share your catch to family and friends from far off places. You can do so by deep-freezing and properly packing the fish before shipping to ensure that it will arrive safely to its destination. Here’s a simple guideline on how to ship frozen fish.
Vacuum-seal the fish to help prevent freezer burn. Plastic wrap can also be used if no vacuum seal is available but wrap several times.
Deep-freeze the vacuumed-sealed fish. Set the freezer to its coldest setting, at least until fish is completely frozen.
Use gel packs or dry ice as cooling materials for shipping your fish. While dry ice stays very cold, the carbon dioxide that is emitted through its melting is harmful for the environment. In addition, it is heavier and more expensive than gel ice.
Get a box for your fish shipment. Choose a container that offers enough room for your fish and ice but is not much larger than necessary, as this requires additional ice. Styrofoam containers are the best because it is lightweight, well-insulated and sturdy.
Select a shipping method for your fish. You can choose truck, air, rail or ship, depending on where you are shipping to and from. Air travel is the fastest but also the most expensive method, and most air carriers don’t offer refrigerated travel. Trucks, railroad companies and ships offer frozen and refrigerated container areas.
Wrap the fish in the ice and pack it into the box. Generally you need around one pound of ice for about 25 pounds of fish, but you need to ensure that bulky items, such as crab legs, get extra ice to protect them from the air spots in the packaging. It is a good idea to include a recipe on how to prepare the fish.
Seal the box securely using packaging tape.
Label the box with the recipient’s address and name. Also label the box on all sides with lettering and stickers warning to “keep frozen.” Take to your local shipping company.