So a while back I mentioned one or 2 ways of getting a sportfishing license for Mexico for those of you wanting to sail down this way and sample the local seafood on the hoof, so to speak. Current regulations (effective January 2008) eliminate the requirement to buy permits for your vessel and dinghy and everyone on board the boat; and now provide that whoever on board your boat wants to fish, they need to buy a license (permiso para pesca deportiva, in the local lingo). Thus if only one of you is going to be fishing, you only need to get one permit for that person – according to Guillermo Barnes of Conapesca Mazatlan, who said so on October 28, 2008. (I mention this, because in any country's bureaucracy individual results may vary depending upon which government official interprets the regs, and what kind of mood that official happens to be in when the regs are applied to YOU.)
ANYway.
You can get a Mexican fishing license before you even enter Mexican waters. On the Pacific side of things, you can directly contact the San Diego branch of Mexico's Conapesca either in person at their office, or by mail (if you have a couple weeks to send them an application with cashier's check or money order and wait to receive the fishing license in the mail at a US address). Or, you can telephone one of two sportfishing shops in San Diego (Hook Line & Sinker, tel. 619.224.1336; or Pacific Coast Bait & Tackle, tel. 760.439.3474), pay by credit card and get your license mailed from them to any address within the US. Mind you, you'll pay a substantial amount over and above the cost of the license itself for these shops' service – it's the cost of doing business, but maybe in your own situation this might be your best and only option.
Because we planned to spend more time in Mexico than just a short vacation, we opted to buy the full year Mexican fishing license for a whopping US $48.20. And the really good news is, these fees have not increased for the 2008-2009 season. I love this country.
This year, though, our 2007 fishing licenses came up for renewal & we finally accomplished the renewal on October 28, 2008, at 6:30 pm. Such a delightful story with a happy ending, it deserves its own post. So, later!
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