forgot to mention. I live 4.5 hours from my "nearest" Alaska hub airport. I picked up the sockeye in the late afternoon in a summer month with temps in the upper 90s. I simply came prepared with an empty cooler in the backseat. From the airport I proceeded to the nearest Smith's. I put 8# of dry ice in the cooler with the fish. I drove partway home and stopped at a motel overnight, finished the drive in the morning. When I got home nearly all the portions were still frozen hard. A couple were thawing a bit, and we just cooked and ate those for dinner that night! The second shipment of sablefish I picked up in a cold snap in November with overnight temps slightly below freezing. In that case I came prepared with a down sleeping bag. I picked up the fish in the morning and put the box of fish in the trunk and swaddled it in the sleeping bag. After the 4.5 hours drive home the results were the same as with the sockeye.

So even if you live in the boondocks it's really not a big deal. If you live closer to an airport than I do, what are you waiting for?!