Mexico
Who runs what: sport fishing permits in Mexico are federal — one permit system, run by CONAPESCA, covers the whole country, salt water and fresh. Hunting is run by SEMARNAT, the federal environment ministry, together with the states — and by law, sport hunting happens only on registered wildlife management land called a UMA, usually hunted through a registered outfitter. These are different systems from the US and Canada; do not assume a US habit carries over.
These are Mexico's own official pages (in Spanish — your browser can translate them). No middlemen, no roundups. If a link and this site ever disagree, the official page wins.
Official links
- CONAPESCA — Mexico's federal fisheries commission
- Sport fishing permit — the official CONAPESCA permit page (who needs one, how to buy)
- SEMARNAT — environment ministry: hunting licenses, seasons, and UMA rules
- Bringing a sporting firearm into Mexico temporarily — SEDENA permit, via the official single window
- CONABIO — Mexico's biodiversity commission (wild plants and traditional foods)
- COFEPRIS — health authority: red-tide (marea roja) shellfish closures
A US visitor in Mexico — the plain facts
- Sport fishing: the permit is federal, personal, and not transferable — one per angler, sold by the day, week, month, or year through CONAPESCA's system. Boat fishing always needs one. Who needs a permit and where the exceptions sit is spelled out on the official permit page above — read it for your case before you go, because the rules are not the US rules.
- Hunting: a sport hunting license (SEMARNAT) alone is not the whole story. Legal hunting takes place on a registered UMA with an approved harvest for that season, and foreign hunters normally hunt through a registered hunting organizer who arranges the license, the UMA, and the paperwork. Book through an organizer; do not plan a do-it-yourself hunt.
- Firearms are the hard line. Mexico's gun laws are strict, and bringing a firearm in without papers is a prison matter, not a fine. A sporting firearm may enter only with a temporary import permit from SEDENA, arranged in advance — SEDENA's published rules allow up to two long guns of sporting type for a hunting trip, tied to your registered hunt and organizer. Leave every firearm at home until the permit is in hand; ammunition and military-style firearms are a separate, stricter world. The official permit page is linked above.
- Wild plants: many of Mexico's wild cacti and other native plants are protected by federal law. What is gathered legally, and where, is covered in the Field Food guide — nopal and tunas yes, digging wild agave no.
No seasons, limits, or prices are printed on this page. That is on purpose. Mexico's seasons run through federal calendars and UMA-specific approvals this page cannot copy reliably, and permit fees change. The official pages above are the law — a live official link beats a copied number that may have changed. Oklahoma and Missouri carry printed limits on this site because they were checked line by line; Mexico gets the same treatment only when it can be verified the same way.
Before you go: check the official pages for your exact dates and waters before every trip. If you eat shellfish, check the COFEPRIS and state red-tide postings the same day. This page was built November 5, 2026.