A dear reader named Gordy Lee asked a question through Facebook comments on our page:

What is legal to bring to through the airports, what is not? Seems like San Jose and Liberia have their own separate ideas, with Liberia being less tolerant. I tried to bring in vacuum packed smoked and cooked salmon through Liberia, had it confiscated and destroyed (yeah right). My friend has brought in raw frozen salmon and halibut through San Jose many times, never a problem.

Hello Gordy Lee, thanks for your question. There’s little chance that the confiscated salmon was destroyed. Salmon has been traditionally missing from our cuisine, but Costa Rica is slowly warming up to the global village concept, and thus it is very likely that the impounded fish ended up in a delicious recipe such as Spaghetti with Salmon-Flavored White Sauce, made with Maggi condiments and Ideal evaporated milk.

The Costa Rica Star does not give legal advice, but our democratic roots allow the free discussion of our laws, which is what follows:

The customs officer at Liberia probably had every right to confiscate the salmon in the absence of a declaration or approved form requesting the importation of food items for the purpose of exhibition and tasting. Laws and rules pertaining customs tend to be complicated affairs, often depending on international and regional treaties, like the Central American Customs Treaty, World Trade Organization rules, and even the Kyoto Protocol.

There should be uniformity in customs between the Juan Santamaria (SJO) and Daniel Oduber Quiros (LIR) airports. Public Law 7556, known as Ley General de Aduanas, and its pertinent administrative regulations make no distinction between the passenger ports of entry, with the exception of Paso Canoas in our southern border with Panama, where you can take advantage of the duty-free shops in Colon. The only difference between SJO and LIR is that flying into the latter is very expensive; something that we hope will change in the future as budget-conscious travelers eschew the convenience of flying into LIR for a much cheaper SJO arrival, thereby sparking up airfare price competition.

We already discussed the issue of what you can and cannot reasonably bring in your luggage in a previous Reader’s Mail article. When it comes to chemicals, controlled substances and foodstuffs, there are certain limitations. Foodstuffs are defined as substances, either processed or raw, that are intended for ingestion. This definition would include drinks and chewing gum. The Central American Customs Treaty dictates certain procedures for the admission of foodstuffs, including declarations and inspections. At a minimum, a declaration and request for bringing foodstuffs must be filed. In an article written for the B2B publication Crecex, Margarita Libby -a legal expert in matters of importation and customs- explained that: “a mistake frequently made is to bring articles that need some process of authorization such as food, vegetable or animal products, chemicals, cosmetic products, drugs, radio transmitters, etc.”

Margarita Libby recommends obtaining an official form from the Health Ministry or the Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica (PROCOMER). Such form will alert customs officers as to the nature and origin of the foodstuffs. You will also need to present proof of purchase, or proof of catch in the case of salmon. You can bring up to $500 worth of food without having to pay import taxes.

As to why your friend has been able to sail past SJO customs with frozen fish on his possession is open to conjecture. Perhaps SJO custom officers are more experienced and familiar with the origin of the salmon. Some Alaska fisheries that ship frozen salmon routinely meet the American government export standards, which are adopted in several other countries. It may also be due customs officers at SJO being more relaxed than their counterparts at LIR; similar to how immigration officers in Paso Canoas are more relaxed than their counterparts in our northern border (a reason why visa runs to Panama are preferred).

We hope that you have better luck next time with your frozen fish, Gordy. Until then, may we suggest you try our fresh tilapia filets grilled and baked with black beans and rice?

If you have a question that you would like us to research and answer, send it to us and we would be happy to turn it into an article on your behalf.