Canned Albacore

[Old Blue]

Has anyone had any issues with bringing canned Albacore back home from the US?

I've done my research online and made a few phone calls to 3 different government offices and the best answer I got was "there was no limit in writing but I suggest 15 cans" ....no idea of the size though, he just said "you know the regular size." He got a bit ***** when I suggested he pass on to his boss that maybe they should clarify that in the future......our tax dollars hard at work.

I'm heading down to Westport on the 20th and plan on bringing my "10 dead finfish non eviscerated" back(knock on wood) but am looking into doing the trade in of a few fish at Merino's seafood market for the canned product so I don't have to wait a few months till my St Jeans order is ready.

Anyone ever do the trade at Merino's?

Thx.

 

[Finished Business]

Merinos was on the high $ide for processing. The canning deal is 10 lbs in + $11.10 and you get six 6oz cans in return.

 

[dabell]

Our group came back with approx 70 loins each, no problems at border. Canning tuna is simple, worth doing it on your own.

 

[getbent]

^^^agreed, buy a canner from cheapo tire and some flats of I/2 pints and you are off to the races. 10lbs for 100mins and you are done.
Man that is a lot of shrinkage on that Merinos deal....

 

[Old Blue]

^^^agreed, buy a canner from cheapo tire and some flats of I/2 pints and you are off to the races. 10lbs for 100mins and you are done.
Man that is a lot of shrinkage on that Merinos deal....

Ya it's bogus but I'm limited on time after my trip so I'll be hard pressed for time to loin and vac pack fish that I'm not already going to send away to St Jeans.
I'm not really up for pushing my luck at the border either so if you're only allowed max 10 fish across the line then it's an option to bring back more meat that I don't need to do any processing myself.

Already planning to go with Tofino Ospray next year to avoid this issue and I'll have a smaller group too

 

[seadna]

If I recall, last year Merinos was full up after a certain point in time and they were not accepting anymore sport caught fish. I'm at Ilwaco this year so I don't know the current situation at Merinos but you might want to call to make sure they are still processing sport caught fish close to when you go.

 

[Old Blue]

The trip to Westport on the Rampage went well. Our first 3 hookups on the troll followed by bait stops produced 11-12 fish but they were only small schools except the last which got broken up by 100+ porpoises and a number of blue sharks and newbies breaking fish off.

It went dead till midday when we stopped on a big mark, the captain yelled out to throw a scoop of chovies overboard and the water erupted with Albacore smashing the bait.....game on!!!! 3 1/2 hrs later and 115 more tuna on board everyone had their desired amount so we stopped fishing and headed in a day early. Unreal fishing, I'm ruined and hooked, other fishing doesn't seem the same. The captain got pissed at a few guys as they were pooped and needed breaks.....yes Randy is salty but I loved him as he's all game. His 2 crew were top notch and kicked butt at the rails.

An update on the trade at Merino's: for every pound of whole head on (not gutted) + $1.85 US you get a 6 oz can or $2.35 for any of their 8 different flavoured ones (chipotle is unreal)
The trade in is super quick and hassle free. I traded in 3 whole fish and got just under 3 cases(24 tins/case) and it cost me about $120 US. St Jeans charges $2.20 for canned, $2.85 smoked and doesn't have the flavours and you have to wait 10+ weeks.
I did drop 3 fish off at St Jeans on my way home as I love their canned product and I wanted some candied and cold smoked sliced lox too.

The trade in isn't ideal if you didn't get good numbers of fish but it's so simple and quick it's a great option if you hammered on them. I can't wait to compare when I get my St Jeans order in December

 

[Old Blue]

Oh ya one guy in my group who came from Edmonton had stopped before crossing the border on our side to try and get clarification on possession limits.

The border agent spent 15 minutes searching their database and printed out a few sheets showing no real limit and highlighting a few key sentences and posted his position and name in case they had any issue on his return trip. No problem with fillets/loins either!!!