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[Jk47]

Fishing the upper vedder yesterday and this gave me a chuckle:
A threesome from Washington (license plate) walking towards their vehicle with a chum, big grins on their faces...
First thing I noticed was the fish wiggling and contorting as the gentleman carried it by the gill towards me. As they got closer I realized that this fish was very much alive and had clearly not been relieved with a bonk. I politely asked if they had bled the fish. Reply was no. I told them it's good practice to always bonk and bleed your catch immediately, and suggested they also gut the fish asap. I would have offered to show them how/do it myself but I had just started a fire and had to keep an eye on it to keep it going. After a short chat with these fellows it was clear that they were planning on transporting this (very dark) chum back to the States. They didn't heed my advise to kill, bleed and gut the fish, but rather put the poor flopping salmon into a cooler (didn't see if there were others already in the cooler) and returned to the river.
Besides the ethical and "foodsafe" issues involved here, this made me wonder; Can you transort fish catches across the border? I assume not. Interesting to see if anyone knows the answer to this

[pbish]

Yes you can transport fish across the border with no issue.

[CohoJake]

Yes, you can transport your catch either way (BC anglers are welcome to take home Washington fish as well).  You just need to be careful of the interplay of catch and possession limits.  For example, I can't take home 4 coho from the Vedder (back to Bellingham) and then go try to retain more coho on my local waters (unless the limit is above 4) because the limits are considered aggregate.  As to why Washington anglers would go to the Vedder to fish chum, and retain them, I have no idea.  A local stream has thousands of chum stacked up right now, with chrome ones coming in every day. 

Which reminds me, fishing down at this local, very busy, stream last week, when the temperatures were way too warm (Monday and Tuesday), there were dozens of chum laying on the bank baking in the sun.  Makes me wonder what people actually do with these fish.  Not to mention the ones that are spilling eggs or milt as they are being carried out.  Ew.

[bigsnag]

As to why Washington anglers would go to the Vedder to fish chum, and retain them, I have no idea.  A local stream has thousands of chum stacked up right now, with chrome ones coming in every day. 

exactly what I was thinking.............

[Jk47]

These guys had thousands of dollars worth of the best gear money can buy. Why did all 3 of them walk the fish back to the car (a 5 minute walk) just to return to the river? Some people have more money than brains - I think this was the case here. Anyways thanks for the responses, I talked with a buddy and we were both in agreement that there was likely little chance of legally transporting catches cross border. I guess it probably would have been a simple Google search but thought I'd ask here as there hasn't been much posting on here last couple days and figured we needed something to talk about! Lol

[Animal Chin]

A few years ago I bought a WA state annual license, the annual fee was pretty close to a 3 day fee. I caught a couple hatch steelhead and chum, the Canadian border guys didn't bat an eye at me bring back my catch. Crossing over I was asked if i had a valid license once.

[jacked55]

The people on both sides of the border have much higher priorities than refusing entry to a couple sport caught salmon. At most you might be asked for a license but 99% of the officers there wouldn't know what possession limits are or what fish are regulated. If you had about 100 fish then there might be a referral into secondary to take a look.

[Jk47]

Figured if you can't take fruit, why would you be able to take fish? Especially LIVE FISH 😜 Lol

[RalphH]

Fruit restrictions relate to the value of the US Agricultural industry plus the possibility of disease transfer. I don't think live fish can be transported period without valid permits - even within the Province.

[CohoJake]

The fruit restrictions aren't that extensive anymore.  If the fruit has a sticker telling you where it was grown, that will help determine if you can bring it across.  Lychee and durian are big no-nos.  And Kinder Eggs.  Live animal transport isn't that big of a deal anymore either.  Heck, one of our friends who was in Tanzania in the Peace Corps brought a dog back with her with very little hassle.  I figure with all the Columbia River chinook that are caught in WCVI fisheries, the least I can do is return the favor!