BEHIND THE SCENES: Mexicos Fishing Industy Consolidation Continues

When people think of Sportfishing companies throughout the world, they think they are run by major corporations with very deep pockets. We have learned from the Gulf oil spill that the majority of Sportfishing companies are small and have most of their money tied up in boats where the bank has the note. When something like the Gulf Oil Spill brings out how vulnerable the fishing industry anywhere is to market conditions and eco castrophies

Here in Mexico, it doesn´t take much to stop tourism, just like in the gulf. Last year it was the Swine or H1N1 flu smear campaign against Mexico. It was all fabricated. Now a year later the W.H.O. comes out and says that they ¨over exaggerated¨ the whole situation. In fact, the swine flu was and is not nearly as dangerous to human life as the normal flu that kills 36 thousand people a year. More people died last year worldwide falling off cruise ships (280 people) than from swine flu in all of Mexico A year later, it comes out that the WHO has a connection of some sort with the company that manufactures the vaccine for this swine flu.  So now it looks like Mexico is a victim of rampant capitalism. Then comes the drug wars, which are / is happening to keep the drugs out of the United States market, which is rapidly expanding, not contracting!  The point here being Mexico has gone through similar situations as the gulf coast fishing industry is going through now for the last two years! No Comparisons, our disaster is far smaller than what is happening and will happen in the Gulf and we all feel just sick about that!  Mexicans understand what is happening to this part of the world maybe better than just about anybody else in the world.

Just like the Gulf, Mexico is suffering from low to no tourism based on manmade situations that are only getting worse. Just like the Gulf, Mexican fishing boats are sitting at the docks with no customers. Just like American fishing companies, Mexican companies are trying to figure out how to keep in business and not lose everything they have worked for in the last twenty years.

Since my blog is about Mexico, what has happened here in the last years is everyone thought the finance bubble would never go away. Many went out and purchased several new boats to service the demand. Then the sky fell, the financial markets raped the financial accounts of almost every American in the country in one way or another….  The boat industry is suffering from the glut of repossessed boats across the USA. An example of over abundant credit and bad market conditions mixed in with a dash of unqualified buyers and you’re eating a dogs breakfast!  The ¨smart¨ ones figured they had an opportunity to get cheap boats and open a Sportfishing company somewhere, PV for example. So the next thing you know, there are miniature Jimmy Buffets everywhere looking to live the Margarita Ville Lifestyle in PV. Six month to a year later we´re into the swine flu disaster  (fresh off the heels of the worst financial period for the world since the great depression) and now they´re all looking to sell their boats, which they are stuck with for now. Or they want to find some way out of the business and take a major loss on their investments. Go Figure, nothing new to me, but I KEEP seeing this happen over and over again. They just keep coming and they go out of business in two to three years. Master Baiter´s is the longest lived fishing company in PV, so they see me and they think they can undercut me and steal the business. But it doesn´t work like that and those who think under-cutting the competition is going to get them a leg up will shortly find it gets them nothing but piling maintenance bills that can´t be paid.

 So to say there is a shake up in the fishing industry; I’m not just talking PV.  Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana or Puerto Vallarta are all dealing with the same market conditions.  Those new to the business are learning new lessons in business. Long lived by those with experience, the truly professional companies are the ones who have longevity.  They’re out there, now how do you find them?? Everyone in the Sportfishing industry is learning again that this is a very expensive sport and it is not meant for everyone. Golf is cheap by comparison to fishing and the community is small to say the least. Profit margins on fishing boats are amazingly low.

Another thing to remember is the cost of things are not going down. In f act, they are sky rocketing. Fuel prices for diesel marine went up just about fifty cents a gallon and are expected to continue to go up for the next  two months,  In biweekly increments, which makes things more expensive for everyone in a down market!?!??

Fishing companies who are trying to survive have dropped their prices to just a little more than fuel, hoping the tip will cover the rest of the expenses. Companies who have been around for years and understand the ups and downs of the industry are not dropping their prices because you can´t get around the minimum wage or cost of operation!  Not if you are going to offer a quality product, no short cuts here….

It’s the same in Hawaii, Florida, Caribbean, Louisiana coast and everywhere else where companies are trying to provide a service to a limited few.  The bottom line here is all fishing companies are feeling the same pain, especially the Gulf Coast Boys.  You can expect Sportfishing to remain for the few and the lucky. My job is to find ways to get you to the fish and not raid the whole vacation fund.

Soon the shake-out will be finished and the level of boats to customers will find a balance.  Those that have been in the business for years will most likely remain. New upstarts who are fifty something  ¨sixteen  year olds¨ looking to  throw their shingle up to live in Margarita Ville and  take over  the world and undercut me, will yet again come to steal my business because  they are just that cool…. again…

How to protect yourself, well the low cost provider is not there to provide service, not at all. The expensive guy, the guy you pay three to four thousand dollars a day to may have a great operation, but for the money, where is the value?  What you need to find or look for is a company that is recommended in places like Fodor’s travel guide, Lonely Planet guide, or Trip Advisor online to learn what past clients have to say about the company. Finding a better recommendation out there is impossible since companies are not allowed to put up their own information, Actual clients do. So these sites are good places to start looking for a company. If you’re coming to a place like PV and you have friends, ask them who to use, they will usually know. If not, look in Western Outdoor news for Mexico or where ever.  These companies are professional since it cost money to be able to publish on these sites. No fly by night operations here. Look in the Fishing clubs and ask who they would use.  These are great resources to start with and get a feel for what a charter in the area you are looking for should run. Every area is priced differently depending on the conditions you have to deal with. In PV, we have to go 25 miles just to get into the blue water fishing grounds. So fuel is always a consideration. A ten hour day will run 350 dollars in fuel before price hikes…. The guy offering prices like 550 to 650 dollars for a boat to Corbeteña is hoping for a tip. But again, buyers beware… you may not even get what you pay for and this is common for people looking to find the cheapest guy in the marina. Remember, fishing companies are like street hookers, there is always a cheaper one on the next corner. At some point   you should ask yourself why this guy is so much cheaper than the other guys. The guy that turns down your business is probably the guy you want to at least talk with for a while.  For at some point, everyone will say no thanks…….

Us this article as a guide and good luck, fishing is fishing, I don’t care where you are, the universals are the same. So get informed, save money and get what you paid for, just don´t be a victim!

I have provided recommendations to clients for years to companies all around the world, if you need some help, I will do what I can….. Feel free to contact me….

Stan

Owner Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle in Puerto Vallarta, Marina Vallarta 

When people think of Sportfishing companies throughout the world, they think they are run by major corporations with very deep pockets. We have learned from the Gulf oil spill that the majority of Sportfishing companies are small and have most of their money tied up in boats where the bank has the note. When something like the Gulf Oil Spill brings out how vulnerable the fishing industry anywhere is to market conditions and eco castrophies

Here in Mexico, it doesn´t take much to stop tourism, just like in the gulf. Last year it was the Swine or H1N1 flu smear campaign against Mexico. It was all fabricated. Now a year later the W.H.O. comes out and says that they ¨over exaggerated¨ the whole situation. In fact, the swine flu was and is not nearly as dangerous to human life as the normal flu that kills 36 thousand people a year. More people died last year worldwide falling off cruise ships (280 people) than from swine flu in all of Mexico A year later, it comes out that the WHO has a connection of some sort with the company that manufactures the vaccine for this swine flu.  So now it looks like Mexico is a victim of rampant capitalism. Then comes the drug wars, which are / is happening to keep the drugs out of the United States market, which is rapidly expanding, not contracting!  The point here being Mexico has gone through similar situations as the gulf coast fishing industry is going through now for the last two years! No Comparisons, our disaster is far smaller than what is happening and will happen in the Gulf and we all feel just sick about that!  Mexicans understand what is happening to this part of the world maybe better than just about anybody else in the world.

Just like the Gulf, Mexico is suffering from low to no tourism based on manmade situations that are only getting worse. Just like the Gulf, Mexican fishing boats are sitting at the docks with no customers. Just like American fishing companies, Mexican companies are trying to figure out how to keep in business and not lose everything they have worked for in the last twenty years.

Since my blog is about Mexico, what has happened here in the last years is everyone thought the finance bubble would never go away. Many went out and purchased several new boats to service the demand. Then the sky fell, the financial markets raped the financial accounts of almost every American in the country in one way or another….  The boat industry is suffering from the glut of repossessed boats across the USA. An example of over abundant credit and bad market conditions mixed in with a dash of unqualified buyers and you’re eating a dogs breakfast!  The ¨smart¨ ones figured they had an opportunity to get cheap boats and open a Sportfishing company somewhere, PV for example. So the next thing you know, there are miniature Jimmy Buffets everywhere looking to live the Margarita Ville Lifestyle in PV. Six month to a year later we´re into the swine flu disaster  (fresh off the heels of the worst financial period for the world since the great depression) and now they´re all looking to sell their boats, which they are stuck with for now. Or they want to find some way out of the business and take a major loss on their investments. Go Figure, nothing new to me, but I KEEP seeing this happen over and over again. They just keep coming and they go out of business in two to three years. Master Baiter´s is the longest lived fishing company in PV, so they see me and they think they can undercut me and steal the business. But it doesn´t work like that and those who think under-cutting the competition is going to get them a leg up will shortly find it gets them nothing but piling maintenance bills that can´t be paid.

 So to say there is a shake up in the fishing industry; I’m not just talking PV.  Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana or Puerto Vallarta are all dealing with the same market conditions.  Those new to the business are learning new lessons in business. Long lived by those with experience, the truly professional companies are the ones who have longevity.  They’re out there, now how do you find them?? Everyone in the Sportfishing industry is learning again that this is a very expensive sport and it is not meant for everyone. Golf is cheap by comparison to fishing and the community is small to say the least. Profit margins on fishing boats are amazingly low.

Another thing to remember is the cost of things are not going down. In f act, they are sky rocketing. Fuel prices for diesel marine went up just about fifty cents a gallon and are expected to continue to go up for the next  two months,  In biweekly increments, which makes things more expensive for everyone in a down market!?!??

Fishing companies who are trying to survive have dropped their prices to just a little more than fuel, hoping the tip will cover the rest of the expenses. Companies who have been around for years and understand the ups and downs of the industry are not dropping their prices because you can´t get around the minimum wage or cost of operation!  Not if you are going to offer a quality product, no short cuts here….

It’s the same in Hawaii, Florida, Caribbean, Louisiana coast and everywhere else where companies are trying to provide a service to a limited few.  The bottom line here is all fishing companies are feeling the same pain, especially the Gulf Coast Boys.  You can expect Sportfishing to remain for the few and the lucky. My job is to find ways to get you to the fish and not raid the whole vacation fund.

Soon the shake-out will be finished and the level of boats to customers will find a balance.  Those that have been in the business for years will most likely remain. New upstarts who are fifty something  ¨sixteen  year olds¨ looking to  throw their shingle up to live in Margarita Ville and  take over  the world and undercut me, will yet again come to steal my business because  they are just that cool…. again…

How to protect yourself, well the low cost provider is not there to provide service, not at all. The expensive guy, the guy you pay three to four thousand dollars a day to may have a great operation, but for the money, where is the value?  What you need to find or look for is a company that is recommended in places like Fodor’s travel guide, Lonely Planet guide, or Trip Advisor online to learn what past clients have to say about the company. Finding a better recommendation out there is impossible since companies are not allowed to put up their own information, Actual clients do. So these sites are good places to start looking for a company. If you’re coming to a place like PV and you have friends, ask them who to use, they will usually know. If not, look in Western Outdoor news for Mexico or where ever.  These companies are professional since it cost money to be able to publish on these sites. No fly by night operations here. Look in the Fishing clubs and ask who they would use.  These are great resources to start with and get a feel for what a charter in the area you are looking for should run. Every area is priced differently depending on the conditions you have to deal with. In PV, we have to go 25 miles just to get into the blue water fishing grounds. So fuel is always a consideration. A ten hour day will run 350 dollars in fuel before price hikes…. The guy offering prices like 550 to 650 dollars for a boat to Corbeteña is hoping for a tip. But again, buyers beware… you may not even get what you pay for and this is common for people looking to find the cheapest guy in the marina. Remember, fishing companies are like street hookers, there is always a cheaper one on the next corner. At some point   you should ask yourself why this guy is so much cheaper than the other guys. The guy that turns down your business is probably the guy you want to at least talk with for a while.  For at some point, everyone will say no thanks…….

Us this article as a guide and good luck, fishing is fishing, I don’t care where you are, the universals are the same. So get informed, save money and get what you paid for, just don´t be a victim!

I have provided recommendations to clients for years to companies all around the world, if you need some help, I will do what I can….. Feel free to contact me….

Stan

Owner Master Baiter´s Sportfishing and Tackle in Puerto Vallarta, Marina Vallarta