New park fees for Socorros and Guadalupe, beginning January 1, 2021

[living4experiences]

There is no reason to increase the fees so much. I have tried to get information from a couple of operators about the "why" for the increase and I can't get a straight answer. Apparently, there are only seven boats with permits for trips to Socorro and Guadalupe and this is a targeted tax at those seven boats and no one else. When I asked where I could find some formal proclamation or document of this new "law", I was told the operators just got a phone call and informed of the new tax. Sounds like extortion, typical of Mexico, and only increases my dislike for how the Mexican government treats divers. The $75 per day per diver is charged for the days you dive, not the transit days. So an 8-day trip with 5 days of diving would be charged $375. Thankfully, Nautilus is giving onboard credits to ease the pain.

As for adding patrols for illegal fishing, guess what? When I was in Socorro a couple of weeks ago, how many patrol boats did I see? A big fat ZERO! The only boats in the area as far as the eye could see were the diving boats. When we were at Socorro island getting our Navy inspection, the one Navy boat I saw was parked next to the shore.

Cage diving with the white sharks is on my bucket list and Guadalupe is the closest place and best visibility in the world from the U.S. for this type of trip. Once I've done that next summer, I probably won't be a participant in this extortion any longer.

 

[Dan]

Yes, see One spot available in Nautilus Belle Amie May 11-19, 2021 $400 off | ScubaBoard

I don't think Aggressor is covering this. I don't know about other operators.

I plan to use the $375 credit to do a two-tank boat dive in Gordo Bank / Cabo Pulmo before boarding Nautilus Belle Amie on Jan 7, 2021 and $100 for the 5-day diving in Socorro. I’ll call Nautilus next week to confirm it.

Plan to do the same on May 11, 2021.

 

[yle]

The Mexican Navy is on Socorro. They board each of the dive boats, lose one dive that day

Yeah, I Google Earthed the islands after my last post, saw the Navy installation there. Socorro Island is bigger than I realized, about 8 miles across.

 

[yle]

Sounds like extortion, typical of Mexico, and only increases my dislike for how the Mexican government treats divers.

It's not just divers. When I was looking for information on this new fee, I found a study that was done by some tourism board in the Cancun area that was very scientific... and was about optimizing revenue from tourists by increasing fees. The gist of the paper was "oh wow... Americans are willing to pay a lot more for stuff! We've been seriously undercharging them!" It included suggestions to raise fees by around 200% (i.e. triple fees to some touristy places.)

The fact is that Mexico has some great diving, it's warm and it's cheap. We've enjoyed the cheap side of it for a long time, and they're starting to take notice. We want the cheap to continue, they want to optimize revenue from their assets. It's a free market, and certainly nothing personal against divers.

Cage diving with the white sharks is on my bucket list and Guadalupe is the closest place and best visibility in the world from the U.S. for this type of trip.

Closest place? If you're in Oregon, the closest is the Farallon Islands just off San Francisco bay. I believe there are cage diving trips out of SF. (I looked them up a long time ago, when I was interested.) A little colder than Guadalupe, but a lot closer to you. Visibility might not be as good as Guadalupe. But check out the options, read some reviews. You might find something you like.

 

[yle]

I plan to use the $375 credit to do a two-tank boat dive in Gordo Bank / Cabo Pulmo before boarding Nautilus Belle Amie on Jan 7, 2021 and $100 for the 5-day diving in Socorro. I’ll call Nautilus next week to confirm it.

Plan to do the same on May 11, 2021.

Sounds like you have the right idea: if you have to spend the money, spend it on more diving. The Socorro trip will still be worth every penny... you just have to spend several hundred more than initially planned.

 

[yle]

There is no reason to increase the fees so much. I have tried to get information from a couple of operators about the "why" for the increase and I can't get a straight answer.

The reason is simple: they believe American (and Canadian) divers will be willing to pay it, and the Mexican government will get the extra revenue. We can complain about it all we want, but they're raising the price to what they think is a fair market value. Whether the buyers agree with that value remains to be seen.

If the liveaboards stay full, and divers pay the fee, then the government will be vindicated. American (and Canadian) divers will fume about it... but it won't stop them from going on their trip.

Or... if enough divers do decide that the price is too high and the boats have trouble filling, then they might have to reconsider the entire plan. American divers complaining about the fee won't have any effect; but liveaboard operators having trouble filling trips might.

Unfortunately, I think you'll see that even with the fee the typical Socorro trip is still cheaper than a comparable (i.e. same number of days) trip to Cocos Island. Which means there's still likely going to be enough demand to fill the Socorro boats. And as you pointed out, there isn't much of an option for cage diving with GWs in warm water anywhere close.

All pure speculation on my part; we'll see how the situation develops over next year or two.

 

[Dan]

The reason is simple: they believe American (and Canadian) divers will be willing to pay it, and the Mexican government will get the extra revenue. We can complain about it all we want, but they're raising the price to what they think is a fair market value. Whether the buyers agree with that value remains to be seen.

If the liveaboards stay full, and divers pay the fee, then the government will be vindicated. American (and Canadian) divers will fume about it... but it won't stop them from going on their trip.

Or... if enough divers do decide that the price is too high and the boats have trouble filling, then they might have to reconsider the entire plan. American divers complaining about the fee won't have any effect; but liveaboard operators having trouble filling trips might.

Unfortunately, I think you'll see that even with the fee the typical Socorro trip is still cheaper than a comparable (i.e. same number of days) trip to Cocos Island. Which means there's still likely going to be enough demand to fill the Socorro boats. And as you pointed out, there isn't much of an option for cage diving with GWs in warm water anywhere close.

All pure speculation on my part; we'll see how the situation develops over next year or two.

I paid $553.7 ($490 + 13% tax) for marine park fee to do a 7 day diving in Cocos last week. That's about $79.1/diver/day. Diving wise, they are about the same. You see more hammerheads & tiger sharks in Cocos, while you'll see more giant mantas & friendly dolphins in Socorro.

 

[yle]

I paid $553.7 ($490 + 13% tax) for marine park fee to do a 7 day diving in Cocos last week. That's about $79.1/diver/day. Diving wise, they are about the same. You see more hammerheads & tiger sharks in Cocos, while you'll see more giant mantas & friendly dolphins in Socorro.

Thanks for the numbers, Dan. Seems like the only reasonable solution now is to split my time evenly between Cocos and Socorro.

Someday...

 

[nippurmagnum]

Does anybody know whether Nautilius liveaboards are still extending credit for the park fees, towards nitrox, rental gear, etc.? I can't seem to find any mention of it on their website.

 

[O-ring]

Does anybody know whether Nautilius liveaboards are still extending credit for the park fees, towards nitrox, rental gear, etc.? I can't seem to find any mention of it on their website.

Yes, they are. I forget what all the eligible categories are, but I know nitrox, alcohol and Nautilus Lifeline units are included. Between those 3 I actually walked off the boat with a perfect zero balance.