Ever seen pelicans fighting over fish? Or a sea lion steal fish from a pelican? It’s a colorful comical sight watching the Cabo San Lucas pelicans down at the makeshift fish cleaning and filleting station on the marina. Tourists mill around, snapping pics, adding to the melee.
Have your camera ready too, as there are some great photo opps.
The scene is not for the squeamish though – expect to see blood, guts and entrails.
Filleting fish – a bloody scene
“Poncho” always wins
Fishermen take their fish to the boat ramp at the end of the marina dock (the makeshift cleaning station), where fish cutters strip the skins from the fish, cut up the fish meat and baggie up the raw fillets. The guts and skin are thrown out for pelicans and gulls to grab – they end up playing a tug-of-war with their beaks.
But they all lose when “Poncho,” the marina’s resident sea lion, lumbers up the ramp to steal their prizes.
Hello Poncho! Are you watching the Cabo San Lucas pelicans?
Hanging marlin
Beside the steel filleting tables, freshly-caught marlin are strung up on a hook and yanked up to be weighed and measured. If you’re quick, you can get your photo taken beside one of these beauties, before it’s taken down to be cut up.
A beautiful marlin – too bad he wasn’t released…
Fishing boats in Cabo’s picturesque marina
Cabo San Lucas is the most expensive resort destination in Mexico.
But stopping by the fish filleting station to watch these Cabo San Lucas pelicans is one of those fun, free things you can do when walking around the marina.
Funny antics of the Cabo San Lucas pelicans
Do you like pelicans? Do you think they’re funny-looking birds?
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure at Sand In My Suitcase.
Yay more opportunity to photograph wildlife! I am always looking for that. Hoping to see some sea lions as I am likely heading to Cabo for my first time next month.
Love your pic of Poncho!
Great time to visit Cabo! If you take a water taxi out to Lover’s Beach, you’ll pass by rocks where sea lions are always sunning and barking. Have fun!
That sea lion Poncho is the cutest! I agree with your comment on too bad the marlin wasn’t released. I wonder how many there are of that size left in the ocean.
Interesting question about the marlin. Cabo is the “Marlin Capital of the World.” It strongly encourages “catch-and-release” to preserve the abundant fishing environment, but allows fishers to keep one marlin per boat.
There’s just something about pelicans, love the top photo!
We also love watching them swoop low over the water at Cabo San Lucas. They’re funny creatures – almost prehistoric looking.