Lobster feed in Cozumel

[N Side Diver]

Well, ten more days until we head to Coz. One more (I hope) question for all you Coz groopies (groupers?)
Where is the best seafood to be had in San Miguel?
(No Lobster please - see Christi's reply to the oiriginal question. No more needs to be said!)

Thanks in advance

 

[Christi]

Nowhere please! Please don't support the overfishing/catching of lobsters!

The more environmental friendly restaurants don't serve lobster except during lobster season.

Thanks!

Grouper a/k/a Mero should also be avoided and is not served by the eco friendly places.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I second what Christi has to say...and more. If you want lobster you can probably get fresher and tastier at your local market in the US, even Maine lobster flown in alive and in tanks. Here in Cozumel, the lobster you may eat has been sitting in the bottom of a panga for days, or it is Australian "large shrimp" imported and frozen.

The best choice, in my opinion is local red snapper, dorado, or the Caribbean King Crab which is the best seafood you will ever taste. Of course the King Crab take may also damage our underwater ecosystem, but DAMN tasty!

If you want a real treat, sit at Pasta Prima from opening until about 7 pm and watch for fishermen to bring buckets of still wiggling catch upstairs. Ask the waiter what it is--then go for it. Nothing beats fresh.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Christi]

I second what Christi has to say...and more. If you want lobster you can probably get fresher and tastier at your local market in the US, even Maine lobster flown in alive and in tanks. Here in Cozumel, the lobster you may eat has been sitting in the bottom of a panga for days, or it is Australian "large shrimp" imported and frozen.

The best choice, in my opinion is local red snapper, dorado, or the Caribbean King Crab which is the best seafood you will ever taste. Of course the King Crab take may also damage our underwater ecosystem, but DAMN tasty!

If you want a real treat, sit at Pasta Prima from opening until about 7 pm and watch for fishermen to bring buckets of still wiggling catch upstairs. Ask the waiter what it is--then go for it. Nothing beats fresh.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Agreed! The red snapper and the dorado are very good and plentiful in the ocean! Haven't ever tried the king crab

 

[scubawife]

For seafood restaurants I like El Conchita del Caribe. Fresh, tasty and reasonable prices.

In the interest of conservation in case there are people that just gotta have what they want, at the very least PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE respect the "closed season" dates that are supposed to be observed by law in Quintana Roo

Lobster - March 1 to June 30 (and this includes the mini-lobster caught down in Punta Allen on the mainland too)
Grouper - Feb 15 to March 15

There are also dates for Conch and Octopus, although I don't think it's too common to even get local conch anymore

Conch - May 1 to Oct 31
Octopus - Dec 15 to July 31

If you see these items on menus or specials during the closed season, don't order them. Also, please question management as to why they have them... they're either getting illegal local catch or you're paying for imported and/or frozen items. Why bother? You can get that at home.

If you want lobster, support the Maine lobster fisherman. Many of the boats shut down early in their 2008 season because the market got so bad they weren't able to make enough money to cover the cost of operations, which were much higher for them.

For seafood consumption in general, this is a great reference The Ocean Project