AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Buying fresh fish in San Pedro

Anyone care to clue this newbie in on any tips for buying fresh fish from the area near the old football field/docks? A few questions I have are:

- which days is it available (Tues/Fri?)
- what types of fish are available?
- about what might I expect to pay?
- should I bring my own ice chest with ice along?
- any other tips/cautions?

Thanks much!
Emily

Wow -- no one here buys fresh fish I guess.

It's been my experience that the place by the old football field is best early in the morning. Some days they have fish, other days they do not....just gotta go and check it out. If they have any left over from previous days they filet it, freeze it and sell it at the little grocery just across the street from Caye Supply. Otherwise- Marinas usually has a nice amount of filets, and whole fish. Again, it will likely be frozen...There are a couple guys who ride around selling fish out of a cooler. For a while Arquel Johnson (fish guy Johnson) was out of the biz, but he's back. Please, don't give him or anyone money in advance. If you see the fish you want pay for it on the spot, otherwise you run a high risk you will never see your cash again. Don't give anyone the chance to be dishonest with you and you won't have any problem. No sense in giving you his phone number because I've had 6 different numbers for him over the last couple years, and a lot of times he won't answer or show up where you discussed and he certainly won't call you to tell you he won't be there because that uses credit. Ask around, and keep a look out you'll find him. Please understand, I'm not knockin' any of these guys, just telling you the facts and a little insight as to how it works here. There are a couple other local fav's best to ask around when you are here because who has what changes all the time. But these couple sources should get you what you need for now. Good luck!

Check your PMs. Pretty much what is above...and a little more.

Agreed, back by the Old Football field in the lagoon corner back by Caye Supplies. The filets have been really small for a while...but that is the only steady supply of fresh fish that I know.

Anytime I've ever asked a San Pedrano where I could find fresh fish, they said 'go fishing'.

Thanks for all the replies! We don't have fishing gear so we will follow the tips here to seek out our fish.

Much appreciated,
Emily

If you live north of the bridge, there is a fishermen by the name of Jose that goes out in a orange plastic kayak that free dives for fish and lobster, when in season. If you wave him down he will bring you anything you want..........very fresh and still alive......at a price that you can not beat!!

Thanks Loansum!

Will keep our eyes peeled for Jose...

Emily

I am with Brusselsprout,Check the field;and if your not successful"green house". That is where we go after our unsuccessful fishing trips

Fish Johnson can usually be found at the vegetable stand on the same side of the street and just south of Castello's Hardware.

Just bought fish by Castillos this week. He also had some wonderful crab claws.

I see a huge business opportunity for someone that wants to open a fish market.
Since the fisherman's cooperative died there has been a gap.
A small shop with display cases of seafood on ice that buys from local fishermen and sells to the thousands of people that live here that don't fish and aren't related to a fisherman:-)

Elbert's suggestion is good thinking - sometimes the most obvious bus-ops are overlooked!

Kate took me down to the water front in San Francisco. Everything imaginable from the sea on ice and the crowds around it busy buying.
I was thinking at the time , why not San Pedro!
Buy from the local fishermen daily on the docks and market it to the GP in a good location along front or middle st.
Crab,Snapper,Grouper,Tuna,Squid,Octopus,Eel,Mackerel,Conch,...We have everything!
Currently you almost have to be a the right place at the right time to score some fish... or be a fisherman.

Great idea Elbert.
I had lunch in Monterey on Sunday at a locals favorite. Along with nice glass display cases they have a cafe where you can point to the piece of fish you want cooked then take home some ice cold fresh fish.
Maybe the politicians plan on incorporating something like this in their grand scheme for the lagoon board walk(tounge in check).

What a wonderful idea!

I don't know if there's the volume of local customers to support a fish market (I mean, the greater San Francisco area has a population of more than 7 million) but I hope some entrepreneur gives it a try.

--Lan Sluder

It could encourage some fisher-folk if they knew there was a cash market waiting for them....and the operator could encourage fishing for a wider variety of seafood.

I agree that this would be a great idea, and I think it would do very well during high season with the number of tourists on the island adding to the local/expat population. A lot of rentals have fully stocked kitchens, so some visitors might actually like to cook during their stay. During the slow season, they might have to cut way back on stock and/or sell frozen fish to avoid wasted inventory.

Seems like folks are always coming on these boards asking for business ideas that would actually stand a chance of succeeding here -- perhaps one of them will read this thread and give it a go.

I have to say that "Where can we buy fresh fish?" is one of the first questions most of our guests ask.

It's the first thing we ask when we visit.

Great idea that could be set up cheaply by Business Association,SPTC/GOB as a job creation scheme. It wouldn't cost much to allow them to set up each day over the back at Saca Chispas for example and the skill set is already in place and we have the unemployed. Make it a community job scheme that also help locals and visitors and takes people off the Streets.

It sure would be great to have a fresh fish stand. We love fresh fish and the only way we get fresh fish is to catch them yourself, which is fun, but I sure wish there was a place to buy fish and crab and lobsters fresh....