Shipping Live Mollusks

How to package your critters so they arrive alive!

U.S. Forest Service Region 6 & Oregon/Washington U.S. Bureau of Land ManagementInteragency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP)

July 2010

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/inventories/identification.shtml

Step 1: Fill two quart-size recloseable bags with ice cubes. If it is over 60°, you may want to use 1 bag of ice cubes and 2 that are solid blocks. (It depends on how many specimens you are shipping)

Step 2: Place specimen containers inside their own recloseable bag and seal shut.

Step 3: Wrap the specimen bag in bubble wrap or add packaging “peanuts” to create a dead air space around the specimens to keep them from freezing next to the ice.

Step 4: Assemble all the packaging parts.

Specimen bag

2 gal. zip bag

2 bags of solid ice blocks – for when it is over 60° F.

Bag of ice cubes

Step 5: Make a sandwich in the 2 gallon recloseable bag – place the 2 ice blocks on the bottom bag followed by the bag of specimen containers and finish with the bag ice cubes on the top. Seal the bag shut.

Step 6: Wrap with newspaper and secure with tape.

Step 7: Place the package in a box and pad with packaging peanuts or air pillows. Ship FedEx overnight to the taxa expert.