A few days ago I raised the issue of Mexican fishing licenses, National Park permits, and liability insurance issued by a Mexican insurance carrier. Herewith, the discussion.
Sportfishing licenses. If the Mexican authorities board and inspect your boat (it seems that’s a rare occurrence, but I’ve still heard of instances especially on the Pacific side of Baja), and you do not have a fishing license, you risk having your boat confiscated. Enforcement might be rare – we've never been approached by any official – but during our 7 weeks in Oxnard, California and Ensenada, Mexico, we heard a few stories of sportfishers' bad experiences. Worst case scenario: boat confiscation plus jail time. Mexico's most expensive recreational fishing license is good for a whole year, and costs US $48.20. If you plan to be in Mexico for a shorter period of time there are cheaper daily, weekly and monthly rates. In other words, chump change. So why take the risk? You can get a Mexican sportfishing license online, and/or via places in San Diego, California, as one of but many options. Just Google "Mexico fishing licenses," or "ConaPesca" (the Mexican government agency that regulates fisheries and wildlife). So stop complaining about the bureaucracy of it all, and just get a license. Criminy, it's less than 50 bucks per fishing person for a year. Catch one mahi-mahi like the Propane Chef up over there and you've paid for the license.
Mexican vessel-liability insurance is required by Mexican law. I’m surprised so many boats have spent so much time in Mexico without it. No; your US or other policy is not accepted in Mexico even if it says it covers you in Mexico. You need to spring for liability-only insurance issued by a Mexican carrier, like ACE Seguros. Haulout facilities, port captains, harbor police, naval officials and marinas may all ask for proof of insurance, and some do not accept a proffer of non-Mexican insurance. We have been asked specifically for proof of Mexican insurance by both marina harbormasters and port captains, but other cruisers we know tell us they've never been asked for proof of Mexican insurance, even when hauling-out, and they've gone to the same places and have been here longer than we have. I guess, then, that enforcement of Mexican insurance coverage is as relaxed as it is in, say, Washington State with their enforcement of proof of state registration of your boat: you can get away for years without paying for it, but if you're involved in some kind of accident or dispute over money (like over a bill for marina fees or boat repairs), you may wish you had it. So I suppose people justify the risk of having no Mexican insurance, by assuming they won't ever have any boat-related problems while they're cruising in Mexico. Certainly, other cruisers have taken that risk and have not gotten into trouble. Alternatively, we've heard of folks who have older boats, and drop their US or Canadian insurance and just pay for the way-cheaper Mexican insurance. For us, our boat is newer and pretty expensive if I do say so myself; we live aboard, and we plan to be here longer and travel more places than the average single-season cruiser. Plus, we're a freak magnet and things happen to us that don't happen to other people. (Almost get rear-ended by panga in dense fog? Check. Almost get run down by sailboat under power and on autopilot with no one on watch? Check.) So for all of the above reasons the cost of Mexican liability insurance makes sense for us. Mexican liability-only insurance is easy to get online in the US and Canada; and it’s cheaper than US or Canadian insurance – for our 6 year old, 40-foot boat, limits of US $100,000 will cost us US $350 for a year’s coverage in late 2008. (OK; it's way up from last year's $195 premium, but still. We'll also be paying $3000 for our $300,000 comprehensive US coverage. Maybe now would be a good time to add PayPal to this blog….)
Now let's address the purchase of Mexican National Park permits. Cabo Pulmo and many of the islands you will visit in the Sea of Cortez are included in Mexico’s National Park lands. There is not much maritime enforcement of these permits but there is some; and if they happen across you the nice rangers in the orange boat will ask you to leave an area if you cannot produce a permit when they ask for one. These park permits are available for purchase from government agencies in Mazatlan, La Paz and Loreto – and you will no doubt find yourself in at least one of these locales. For whatever reason, many cruisers refuse to pay for these permits. But a permit for a whole calendar year that is good in every Mexican National Park – the whole country, land or sea, January through December - costs US $24 per person. If you can’t justify paying 24 bucks to comply with environmental law, you shouldn’t travel to foreign countries. So my advice? Do The Right Thing. Stick a crowbar in your wallet, pay the fee, get a way-cool park pass, and help Mexico’s conservation efforts. Do it for the critters you'll meet.
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