Bag shipment requires placing a prescribed weight of fish in 1.5-2 gallons of water in a large plastic bag.
Excess air is removed from the bag and replaced with pure oxygen.
The bag is sealed and placed into an insulated container and finally into a cardboard shipping box and shipped. There are several reasons why bag shipment may be the best choice for the shipper. First, very small fish and fry could be damaged by attempts to ship quantities of them in large tanks. Second, due to the extreme distances involved, bag shipment may offer economic advantages to shipping by airfreight or bus. This fact sheet will focus on transport of fish, but with minor modifications such as reduced water for plants, the techniques and principals discussed would also apply to shellfish and plants.