What to know before importing living things?

[billango]

I've been trying to do some research about the laws and regulations of importing fish, fish eggs, snails, shrimp, plants etc. into the United States as I sometimes run into something sold internationally that I am interested in. I might assume that good international sellers would already take care of permits and make sure they are only shipping to the US if it is legal, but maybe not every seller is so thorough. Does anyone have any insight or knowledge around the basics of legally importing these things and what the buyer may need to do. I'm sure it all varies based on what type of living thing it is and such, but any info would be appreciated. Thanks. 

[ScottieB]

You are already off to the right start by asking questions. I certainly do not have the answers but I found out there’s a lot more to it. I just attended a talk at the annual American Cichlid Association meeting by a really well spoken agent about this very subject.
 

I’ll include a screen shot of his first slide where he posted his email address (there is an underscore in it). He was peppered with questions, some by rather defensive fish keepers. He mentioned anyone thinking of importing fish could email him.  He was totally approachable and honestly trying to help hobbyist do the right thing. There’s a right way to go about it and a wrong way and you can’t always trust exporters/hobbyists to do it right. 

[Cory]

Top level view:

You get a import license to bring stuff into the country. Then you pay and schedule someone to inspect the shipment on arrival. This can be very expensive if it lands outside of normal business hours which is fairly common, or let the fish sit till the next day.  From there, you need to know what is legal to import. You'd need to know that you can only import from the countries you applied for. Koi and Goldfish need health certificates to come into the country. Aka more fees. 

Importing fish probably starts at $750 for 1 box of fish between the fees, flight cost, inspection etc. Where it makes sense is when you add more boxes. 2 boxes might only be $1000, and 3 boxes is 1200, etc. This doesn't include the cost of the fish. 

So it's one of those things that is doable, a license is like $100 a year to maintain. But the cost/hassle shouldn't be overlooked. When you are trying to schedule someone to look at the import, flight gets delayed, or rebooked etc. It's a stressful time each time we do it.