Super_Dave wrote:
You will pay quite a bit to have it processed, frozen and shipped. I went a few years ago and the processing was paid by the lodge I stayed at. Fed-Exing it home was about $3/lbs. We had 200 lbs of fish between my wife and I so it was a pretty penny just in shipping. However, if you stayed a few days at spots with a processing plant, I'd recommend doing it. Every day they take your fish and vac seal it and put it in a locker with your name on it. When you get ready to leave, you can establish a ship date. For example, if you knew you were going to be home in a week, they would ship on the specified date and you'd be home to receive it and handle it properly.
We haven't been for a couple of years so I don't know todays costs but flash freezing and shipping back in 1992 was spendy and is the best way to your fish home. Most "experts" say not to keep frozen fish more than a year, well they probably never drank out of a rubber hose on a hot summer day or failed to wash their hands before eating. We had a few pieces go bad due to faulty vacuum packing but we had it for a year and a half and longer.
Frozen/defrosted halibut from AK is in the $30/pound range here in the Los Angeles area. And we figure it costs less than retail to process your fish and ship it home, plus you have an adventure to tell folks at your Alaskan Fish Fry. So go for it, even if you have to skip a trip the following year.
