Stopped at the Border

[Reef_surfer]

so i was told in the past that we can ship frags of zoanthids to canada from the US as long as they get shipped on a fragplug not live rock is this true?

i just got a call from Fedex that i need a CITIES to bring in these zoas. he was saying any live coral needs a cities. Now is there any legislation that says im in the clear? the shipment has been close to 24hrs now and they might not let me have them.

i know some of you guys ordered from Neptunes cove. did you have a problem there ?

thanks

[Delphinus]

My understanding is that zoanthids are not listed under CITES. (Note it's CITES not CITIES, everyone spells it as CITIES and that's incorrect - "Convention for the International Traffic of Endangered Species"). If you go to cites.org, there is a species lookup that will look up Appendices 1 and 2 and possibly 3 and if it doesn't show up there, then it's not listed on CITES and you don't need CITES documentation.

That said, now the onus is you and the shipper to prove emphatically what species is contained in this shipment and that it's not covered under CITES and I'm not sure what you can do to prove to customs that this is the case. At a minimum starting point you're going to have to get in touch with your supplier and ask them for help on this I think.

Good luck.

[Reef_surfer]

hey thanks for the info. i am actually txting the supplier right now and he is helping me out on his end.

[saltcreep]

What does your documentation (invoice) state as the product? Is it Fedex that is asking for the permits or is it CBSA?

[Reef_surfer]

My supplier put that it is Coral and specified what the coral was and that it was being shipped on a manufactured plug. he also stated the precautions took to ensure no damage to the corals.
well its fedex im on the phone with but im thinking that the guy im talking to is representing the CBSA

What does your documentation (invoice) state as the product? Is it Fedex that is asking for the permits or is it CBSA?

[MrsBugmaster]

If it's coming from the US and you need a cites export permit....well, good luck!
I just got my African Grey Parrot here 3 weeks ago and I moved here 6 months ago. My bird is on the cites appendex 2 list and it took 6 months to get the proper export permit from US. Although the website says it takes 60 days, don't believe it. On the other hand, it took only 1 day to get import permit from CA. Let us know how it turns out.

[saltcreep]

If it's coming from the US and you need a cites export permit....well, good luck!

No CITES permits are required for exports of zoas on non-rock bases.

Reef_surfer...hopefully the commercial invoice states that it is zoas contained in the shipment. If it is, remind Fedex that they are not CITES listed and therefore no permits are required. Suggest they contact Canadian Wildlife to verify that if needed.

Otherwise, good luck. Not a great position to be in.

[Reef_surfer]

ALL clear! I had to sign some GAA agreement form for Fedex to be my broker, and I havent heard back from Customs.Im sure they figured out they couldnt pull a power trip. the supplier put on the invoice it was a Zoanthid frag on a manufactured plug. and now bc customs didnt clear i dont get my shipment untill tomorrow.

Glad i paid extra for overnight shipping that isnt going to happen

[xbios]

Hopefully you don't get hit with brokerage fees now.

[Gaffer]

I just finished replying to you on Nano-reef.

According to the Americun's you are going directly to jail.

Glad it all got sorted out.

Andrew

[Reef_surfer]

I just finished replying to you on Nano-reef.

According to the Americun's you are going directly to jail.

Glad it all got sorted out.

Andrew

yeah do not pass go do not collect 200$ but when i was on the phone with the guy he said there is no problems but he has to wait for environment canada to clear it........

Hopefully you don't get hit with brokerage fees now.

well the fedex guys said i shouldnt get hit with any bc its only 50$ but who knows. if that happens guess what

i now live on a reserve and going to change my shipping address and use my treaty card.

[Delphinus]

Zoanthids should be fine for an extra day in shipping. Remain optimistic. Good luck.

[Atomikk]

Corals are listed in Appendex 3 in the CITES agreement. Athough it does say corals are covered, the wording is specific to those corals that are attached to a piece of live rock, or are made out of calciferous material (ie stony corals). Therefore soft corals that are not attached onto a piece of rock rubble, or are on plastic/ceramic/man made plugs can be shipped without any permits.

[Delphinus]

Corals are listed in Appendex 3

http://cites.org/eng/app/index.shtml

Appendix 1 lists species that are most threatened with extinction; Appendix 2 lists species that may become so threatened without control in traffic; and Appendix 3 lists species "included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation". Anyhow so "corals" aren't necessarily 1, 2 or 3 but may be listed in any of these categories depending on the individual species and where how endangered that species may currently be. For example there are 181 "Acropora" species listed, most of which are Appendix 2 but I'm sure there are some in 1 and some in 3 as well.

One can search the CITES database here:
http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html