Anglers from all over the globe flock to Central America every year in search of a bevy of trophy fish.  A Costa Rica fishing vacation to target sailfish and marlin offshore or roosterfish and tarpon inshore, Panama’s famous yellowfin tuna fishery, even bonefish and permit fly fishing in Belize – you can check off quite a few species from your bucket list right here in Central America. However each year just as many anglers visit Central America in search of tasty meatfish like yellowfin tuna, dorado (mahi-mahi), wahoo, snapper, grouper, snook, and more. As you might expect, one question we hear quite a bit is “can I bring fish home with me?”

The answer is ‘Yes’, you are allowed to fish back home with you. Before you start dreaming of filling your freezer with tropical game fish however you need to know which species are protected and which fish are legal to become table fare.  In Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama, all billfish (marlin and sailfish) are strictly catch-and-release and are protected by law.  In 2008 Belize became the first country in the world to pass a law that makes all bonefish, permit, and tarpon strictly catch and release species.  In addition to the legally protected species there are several others that are released by most captains for the purpose of conservation and the survival of a prized game fish.  In Costa Rica and Panama, roosterfish would be at the top of the list due to their incredible fighting ability and immense popularity. In recent years, there has been a big push in Panama to release all cubera snapper due to their notoriously slow growth rates and reproduction cycles.

Try to release prized game fish like cubera snapper, which have slow reproduction rates.

The question of ‘can I bring fish home with me?‘ is as much a question of legality as it is logistics. First things first, is it actually legal to bring the frozen fillets back into the US?  Yes.  US Customs and Border Patrol does require you to declare that you are bringing food/meat into the country, but they have no problem with you bringing back fish for personal use as long as it’s not an endangered species of course!   At the point of entry they’ll ask where you were, how long you where there, and what items you declared. Once again just tell them you were on a fishing trip to Central America and you are bringing back frozen fillets and most of them will simply wish you a safe journey home. I’ve even had some agents ask me about the trip, how much it cost, and when’s the best time to go!

There is one more catch, however.  Just because it is legal doesn’t mean the airlines will allow you to fly with it.  Currently most major airlines have no restrictions on bringing fish back.  The only one that we know of that does is Jet Blue.  We highly recommend that you call or verify on the airline’s website that it is OK to fly with fish, because even if it’s legal to bring it back if they won’t allow it on the plane in the first place you are still out of luck.

So we’ve answered the first half of the question ‘can I bring fish home with me?, yes it is legal, but how does it physically travel thousands of miles from Central America back to your kitchen?  Many of our anglers have fished in Alaska and had fillets mailed back to them, but it’s an understatement to say that the infrastructure of Alaska and Central America is about as different as their climates. Unfortunately, in Central America there is no option to put your fish on dry ice or smoke them and ship them back to your front door in a tidy UPS box so you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way – bringing it back yourself!

The first thing you’ll want to do is to have your fillets frozen solid before your flight home.  Depending on your accommodations, you may have a fully furnished kitchen with your own freezer, but if not your hotel or fishing lodge will be glad to put your catch in theirs for you.  Some lodges offer vacuum sealed bags, if not a quality zip-lock bag will work just fine.

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