Fishing Regulations
- Thread starter JPDenny
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sure why not?
cozcharlie
Contributor
People do that , but there are even more headaches to owning a boat here than in the states. Also not certain if you could captain your own boat without some sort of license/permit (there are all sorts of permits and permissions for boats and crews , but I am not certain which ones apply just to businesses and which ones apply to all boats including just for personal use ). I assume there is a still a shortage of marina slips for one thing (one guy I used to run into on the plane to Houston was always desperate for a slip ). Please note if you want to operate it as a business there will be all sorts of additional headaches on and off the water. See @ChuckP ’s post from early this morning ( can’t remember if under local news thread or Norte thread ). He was talking about his experience owning a dive boat , but many of the headaches would be the same .
I definitely wouldn’t plan on buying a boat here first thing . Would come down and live for a year and just charter a boat once a week or something like that. See if you like living on the island and see is the pain of having your own boat will likely be worth it . Not certain what type of fishing boat you are looking at but obviously not cheap to rent and not cheap to own. (I kind of assume you already know this but a surprising number of people don’t understand the high costs when they inquire about boats here or in the states ). For 35-40 foot outrigger style sport fishing boat with cabin I think the fuel alone is $350-$450 for a full day trip , with variable maintenance etc and other costs on top of that so variable break even is $500-$600+ with no money for owner to cover capital cost or other fixed cost recovery on a low/mid 6 figure boat or his/her time ) . People scream bloody murder at charter rates that are just below the $1k neighborhood, but more than half is just pure variable cost. You can obviously go smaller , but fuel will still be a major cost. Fuel is generally more expensive in Mexico than the states but you would have to look up current levels. Also please note that very experienced captain died like 3 days ago along with first mate, so obviously safety can be issue —yes people knew a storm was coming , but it came in stronger than I would have expected having seen the forecast (think the rain kicked up the wind and therefore waves much worse than had been predicted)—not looking for a debate on this, just saying like anywhere even people with local knowledge can have issues (but this isn’t Kodiak Alaska either )
I definitely wouldn’t plan on buying a boat here first thing . Would come down and live for a year and just charter a boat once a week or something like that. See if you like living on the island and see is the pain of having your own boat will likely be worth it . Not certain what type of fishing boat you are looking at but obviously not cheap to rent and not cheap to own. (I kind of assume you already know this but a surprising number of people don’t understand the high costs when they inquire about boats here or in the states ). For 35-40 foot outrigger style sport fishing boat with cabin I think the fuel alone is $350-$450 for a full day trip , with variable maintenance etc and other costs on top of that so variable break even is $500-$600+ with no money for owner to cover capital cost or other fixed cost recovery on a low/mid 6 figure boat or his/her time ) . People scream bloody murder at charter rates that are just below the $1k neighborhood, but more than half is just pure variable cost. You can obviously go smaller , but fuel will still be a major cost. Fuel is generally more expensive in Mexico than the states but you would have to look up current levels. Also please note that very experienced captain died like 3 days ago along with first mate, so obviously safety can be issue —yes people knew a storm was coming , but it came in stronger than I would have expected having seen the forecast (think the rain kicked up the wind and therefore waves much worse than had been predicted)—not looking for a debate on this, just saying like anywhere even people with local knowledge can have issues (but this isn’t Kodiak Alaska either )
I remember either asking this question or an offhanded reply about something similar got me roasted years ago. There is a ton of inaccurate information that you will hear, the key is to go directly to the authorities and ask questions - take a great translator with you and ask very specific questions, they will show you the law if you ask.
I was always told you need a captain to operate any boat - not true. I had a Mexican flagged, registered as commercial boat and was allowed to operate it only for personal non paying trips - ie friends going to El Cielo - that information is straight from the captains office. The information we reviewed that day, didn't say anything about boat length, I would confirm that with the office. With that being said - you will be watched by everyone - EVERYONE. You will be reported to the captains office, you will be inspected repeatadly - I never really had this issue but I was friends with everyone in the marina, I had a very well respected captain on payroll and I openly talked with other captains. You need to be extra vigilent for safety and because everyone is watching you, even out on the water - you must work with a captain to learn the wheres and whats - snorkeling spots and diving reefs are not a hazard marked on a chart but they are a huge haazard!!!!
There is a lot of paperwork to buying anything in Mexico, get someone to do the papers for you, that is a must.
Dockage is available in th new marina, just very expensive compared to others.
I was always told you need a captain to operate any boat - not true. I had a Mexican flagged, registered as commercial boat and was allowed to operate it only for personal non paying trips - ie friends going to El Cielo - that information is straight from the captains office. The information we reviewed that day, didn't say anything about boat length, I would confirm that with the office. With that being said - you will be watched by everyone - EVERYONE. You will be reported to the captains office, you will be inspected repeatadly - I never really had this issue but I was friends with everyone in the marina, I had a very well respected captain on payroll and I openly talked with other captains. You need to be extra vigilent for safety and because everyone is watching you, even out on the water - you must work with a captain to learn the wheres and whats - snorkeling spots and diving reefs are not a hazard marked on a chart but they are a huge haazard!!!!
There is a lot of paperwork to buying anything in Mexico, get someone to do the papers for you, that is a must.
Dockage is available in th new marina, just very expensive compared to others.
What I'm looking for is for my Son and I to go fishing and diving, trying to find the best place to retire in 2025, I love the Florida Keys, but I am currently not a millionaire, so I'm looking at Cozumel, Belize, USVI, etc,
cozcharlie
Contributor
I am kind of reiterating my earlier post, but if you are not a millionaire you can’t afford to learn something the hard way. Wherever you go I would stay for several months before buying anything . A lot of people move down here and lose almost everything chasing a dream (at least two have fled the country while owing me small amounts of money —they didn’t leave because of me but I think my money was used to buy plane tickets out of here ).
sefuchs
Contributor
A few years back, I went thru the same eval process you are doing but ended up not buying. I'm an avid diver and fisherman. I ended up deciding to just go to cool places for extended stays which is much cheaper for us. We really enjoy extended stays bc we are there long enough to make friends, get to know the local area and adjust our schedule as we please. We kind of see it as making the best of living and vacationing in our dream areas. Buying and maintaining a home is very expensive in these areas and living in a vacation area is much different than visiting for a few weeks a year. I'd suggest renting for several months before getting serious about purchasing.
Love Coz for the diving but fishing is so-so. Some light tackle/fly (flats) fishing up north (by boat) for Bonefish, occasional Permit and a few other shallow water fish. The ocean fishing near Coz is just so-so in my opinion. Belize has much better fishing opportunities and probably more activities like rivers, hiking, jungle, etc., but the diving is not as good and dive sites are 1-2 hour boat ride from mainland. Those were the only two areas a really looked into much.
Love Coz for the diving but fishing is so-so. Some light tackle/fly (flats) fishing up north (by boat) for Bonefish, occasional Permit and a few other shallow water fish. The ocean fishing near Coz is just so-so in my opinion. Belize has much better fishing opportunities and probably more activities like rivers, hiking, jungle, etc., but the diving is not as good and dive sites are 1-2 hour boat ride from mainland. Those were the only two areas a really looked into much.
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