Visiting & fishing southern Mozambique (Ponta do Ouro – Xai-Xai)

[John F]

After 16 years of a socio-economically catastrophic civil  war, which ended in 1992, tourism in Mozambique has boomed (especially coastal  tourism). The great majority of visitors to southern Mozambique (in this case  Ponta do Ouro – Xai-Xai) are South Africans. With this in mind, I thought of  putting together a few tips for those coming to visit and fish Mozambican  waters for the first time. Please note that some very basic/general info will  be provided. For other areas not covered (or more details in those spots that  fall within the considered stretch of coastline), please ask I’ll be happy to  help. If I can’t help, I’m sure other members will do so. Also, the info will  be biased towards the South African visitor, but of course these apply to  everybody else (me included)!
 
Part 1: Generalities
 
Visas, currency, culture, etc.
 
South African nationals and those from a few other countries  in the region do not need tourism visas to get into Mozambique (max 30 days).

The Mozambican currency is the Metical (plural Meticais – MT  or MZM), available in the following denominations 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and  20 Meticais. 10, 5, 2, 1 and 0.50 coins are currently circulating. Most  respectable restaurants, shops, etc. in the main cities/towns will accept VISA  credit cards, but make sure to get a few thousand Meticais on your way in (one  can also cash money from the ATMs). Some businesses will accept US dollars or  more frequently SA rands, the further north one goes from Maputo/away from the  major cities/towns, the worst the rate/ acceptability is.

Mozambicans are usually very friendly and even shy. However,  poverty levels in the country are really high and the pseudo-urbanisation of  the population carries a heavy burden: crime. Therefore, don’t carry large  amounts of cash on you and always keep your valuables away/locked up,  especially in high populated areas/tourism destinations. In this regard, I  would like to say one thing to all those visiting the country: please don’t  give money to the kids in the streets! It really doesn’t help and only promotes  petty-crime, bad habits and an anti-work culture! Don’t buy wildlife in the  street (tortoises, chameleons, birds, etc.) or souvenirs made from protected  species (marine turtle shells, ivory, etc). Please respect the local culture…  heavy drinking in public and very short or no clothing is really inacceptable!  Would you accept that in your home town? Well, neither do the people you’re  visiting…   
 

Getting there: rules of the road
From southern Africa, visitors can fly from Johannesburg  (several daily flights) or Durban, Luanda, Dar-Es-Salaam or Nairobi (a few  weekly flights). These will take you either to Maputo or one of the major  cities (Vilankulos, Beira, Nampula, Pemba).
But, driving is really the best way to get here!!!! Five  main border posts are available to enter southern Mozambique: Ponta do  Ouro/Kosi (Moz/SA); Namaacha/Lomahasha (Moz/Swazi); Goba/Mhlumeni (Moz/Swazi),  Ressano Garcia/Lebombo (Moz/SA) and Giriyondo (Moz/SA). With exception of Ponta  do Ouro/Kosi and Giriyondo where a 4x4 vehicle is mandatory, all other posts  have tar roads with relatively good, fast connections to Maputo/coastline.

 Vehicle third party insurance is mandatory in Mozambique.  Get yours at the border.

Within cities/towns, maximum speed is 60 km/h. Out of these areas, if not signed otherwise, maximum speed is 120km/h and if towing 100 km/h. Over speeding carries heavy  fines/imprisonment. Please drive carefully, especially when approaching  towns/villages as both animals and children may cross the road unexpectedly. If  one is involved in an accident with lose of life or serious damage the vehicle  and driver will/may be taken to custody. This is a regular procedure. Stay calm  and contact your embassy/consulate and your third party insurance company  (especially for help in Portuguese/English translation).     

One should always carry his/her ID/passport (or DIRE for  resident foreigners), driver’s license and the vehicle’s registration papers.Mozambican traffic police is dressed in white shirts and  dark blue trousers and is the only recognized authority (as well as personnel  from the National Traffic Institute – INAV and National Roads Administration –  ANE) to regulate/enforce traffic legislation. Corruption is still widespread in  the country and the traffic police are no exception. Please do not give bribes  – if one does it just to avoid the hassle, it will only contribute to  perpetuate this evil! Please obey the speed signs! I know it’s a pain in the  neck driving to Inhambane and every 10 kms there is a small village, which  makes you reduce to 59 km/h). But hey, rather get there safe and late than  broke and later! If pulled over, be nice, civil and stay calm. If you did  nothing wrong, you should not pay a bribe or a fine!!! If it gets a bit fishy,  rather ask to see the supervising officer or drive to the next police station  (if feasible). Keep your cool and eventually it will be over soon! Until the  next village!!!! But hey, think about all those couta, GT, sailies and better yet,  prawns and ice cold 2M waiting for you!!!!       

Towing vehicles should carry a yellow/blue towing sign. All  vehicles should have 2 hazard triangles and one reflective jacket. Double  towing (e.g. vehicle-boat-trailer) is not permitted. Foreign vehicles do not  have to drive with their lights on during daytime.

Seat belts buckled and there you go…   
 
What to bring: food, meds, tackle, etc.
Most areas/resorts will have all the basics one needs within  a radius of ± 30 km. So fuel, basic groceries and veggies will be available.  One can bring those especial items (cheese boerwors… yammy), but please don’t  waste vital packing space with, jackets (this is a tropical country!), bread  (we have our world famous pao!) or beer (do I have to say it?!). Rather use it  for extra tackle! Unleaded petrol is used throughout the country, but the  quality gets questionable as you move further north. So, all 4-stroke outboards should carry decent fuel filters/water separators.

Health care facilities are a major problem in Mozambique and  one should be prepared to face/solve, on your own, all minor problems. Bring  all your prescription meds and a good first aid kit. There are almost no  pharmacies at the coastal resorts, so paracetamol for those babelass should also be there… bring plenty of malaria prophylactics (burning coils, sprays,  roll-on sticks, even pills if needs be) and pay especial attention to the kids.  Most lodges/resorts have mosquito netting for sleeping. Sun lotion (for my kids  I use minimum +30 SPF) and hats are mandatory – bring plenty!

Unfortunately, there are no (decent) tackle shops is  Mozambique! Some lodges do sell small amount/variety of the basic stuff but if  you loose you luck lure, that happens to be producing in that trip, better  contact DHL! So… bring everything! There’s plenty of fresh bait, which can be  bought on site (including halbeaks - peixe-agulha in Portuguese; chokka - lula;  scad - carapau), or live baits (bonnies, etc.) can be readily caught after one  launches.


Part 2 will deal with fishing regulations and permits and Part 3 with info on several fishing locations...

[REEFMAN]

Nice write-up JohnF... this will be a great help to prospective travellers! +cred

[Andre Laas]

Great Info!!! Thanks for that! +cred

[Kumz]

 :shre:  have sum cred ....

[WalkersKiller]

Great post Marcos cred to you  :shre:

[kp11]

Great info i thought the maximum speed was 100. But thanks for the info

[TUNAMAN]

Cred to you mate. Was also under the impression limit was 100km/h travelling Xai Xai to Inhambane. Only signs I witnessed was 60km/h, 80km/h and 100km/h.

[CLS]

 :shre:  Thanks JF, was well worth the read.

[John F]

Thanks guys...

with regards to the max speed.... my bad I should have put it more clearly... the max speed of 120 Km/h is for those areas not signed... this would be your absolute maximum speed allowed... obviously there are areas out of town/villages signed 100 km/h for all sorts of reasons (tight turns, etc.)... will correct the post above... Thanks!   

[MIKE PIKE]

Thanks for the info Marcos, nice to have as a quick reference when travelling up that way..

[John F]

Part 2. Fishing Regulations

There is quite a large amount of fisheries and other related legislation in force currently in Mozambique. For those not familiar with it this can become a nightmare as the language barrier is a major setback which adds to the general unavailability of these resources online.

What I've decided to do is gather the most important bits and pieces of relevant legislation spread on various Regulations and highlight them here.

Fisheries legislation in Mozambique is governed by the Fisheries Law (Law 3/90 of 26 September). Basically it sets the general principles and then it's up to the specific regulations to deal with details.

Under the Fisheries Law, the Recreational and Sport Fishing Regulation is the most relevant to us. Therefore, and to avoid repetition and potential omissions, I have translated the whole Recreation and Sport Fishing Regulation (Decree 51/99 of 31 August). I'm not going to describe the contents of the regulation here. I think that all those interested should print this and carry it along at all times when visiting Moz. It's not an official translation, but I'm sure it will help clear a few issues and certainly will make your life easier.

Secondly, the General Regulation on Maritime Fisheries (REPMAR, Decree 43/2003), deals specifically with commercial fisheries. I will not get into details, but if anyone is interested please let me know.

There is also a Regulation related to aquaculture, but the one that deals with Inspection and Quality Assurance of Fishing Products (Decree 10/98 of 17 March) which sets the limits of export of sea products on a non-commercial basis to a maximum of a total of 6 kg. So for example one can only take 1 kg of prawns + 5 kg of fish! Or the other way around.

The so called Beach Regulation (Decree 45/2006 of 30 November), bans driving on the beach and sets a fine of 20,000.00 Mts.

Please take note that certain MPA's may have further restrictions on recreational and sport fishing - but these will be dealt later on (Part 3), where I'll discuss individual areas.

Hope it helps!

[REEFMAN]

Awesome1 +cred

[isivuba]

John F is the above info still valid 

[John F]

John F is the above info still valid 

 

[Happy Dog]

   for this helps as going in July. what is exchange rate to Rands and do you know launch fees in Ponta? thanks

[isivuba]

  from my side will also help for the Ponta trip 

[kp11]

We foundout the expensive way that a fishing licence is also for a specified area make sure you do not fish outside the area

[John F]

  for this helps as going in July. what is exchange rate to Rands and do you know launch fees in Ponta? thanks

Exchange rates in Maputo are ca. R1 = 3.80 Mt. Should vary in other locations.

Fees in Ponta (got the info this morning from the Reserve Manager):

Navigation license: 800.00 Mt / boat
"Boarding" fee: 200.00 Mt / angler
Fishing license: 400.00 Mt/ angler (valid 30 days)

[Toppie]

Dont they still freely accept Rands in Ponta?
 
When I was based there dont think I ever saw an Mt.

[John F]

Meticais has been circulating more these days, although several shops/lodges still accept ZAR.