:- 

### THE :ATTORNEY 

## GENERAL OF ?lxxAs

honorable

H. D. Dodgen ! opinm NO. ~965
%.xuIT~v~ Secretary : we and Fish Conanission Re: (1) Const~ction of HouseBill ws.lton Building l2,Acts 56thLegislature1959, Austin,

Texas Article4075b, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes,

relative

to size
0r travl that my be lawiully usea for sportsfishermen In the taking of sbrlmp

by SportsBait-Shrimp Trawl; (2) and the rcrvful means and method of th' taking of sh+imp DearMr. Dodger other than by trawls.

You have request+en opinionof this Department gn the a+me subject matter and your .inquiry.reLstes to the shriahage

allowance

on.Sports

Bsit-Shrimp Trawls as comparedto shHnka&e allowedon Oxnmerci.sl Bay-Bait-ShrimpTrawls a$ yourquestion numbq 2 posing the que@&masto whetherany other type of seines' or nets other than trawls couldbe lawfully used for the taking of shrimp.
The Legislature

passed,the

l&s Shrimp Coneeivattae~c$.BouseBill l.2, ch. l&l,Acts 19!5g, 56th.Legislature,

which original

bIlLwas exxcted into law end is now carriedin Vernon16 Annot+ed Civil Statutes as Article4075th In such law the Legisliture in Section 1 provided In part as follows:
"Sectlon

1. This.Ad sbllbe lammasthe "Peras Shrimp Conservation

Act' and It is hereby declared by the Legislature of the State of Texas as t6 be the public policy of this State that the Sbdup resources ofthe.St&e of Texas be conserved and protected from deptitia end waste in ordezthat the peopleof Texas and their posterity may enjoy the mo&:.reaeonable and equitable prlvfieges

in the ownership

and taking of such shrimpremur'6es, cmdthatthe shrimp industry ofTexas be protectedfrommlawful encroachment

and be promotedend fostered consistent with the geueral

good of the people of this State md to thos&ends, and.ln the interest

of achieving

fair, impartial,

and unifornlaw enforcement. lt is further declared

by the Legislature of Texas to be.the Public Policy.cif

thie.State

that any and all laws. acts, bills, rules,regulations. proclamations

or orders .relating to.shrimp

or the shrimp lnduetryshallbe carriedou+ under this Act, any other provision

bf.the .I.aw

to the contrary

notwithstanding;

provided.however nothing In this Act shall be construed to affect or repealany existing

laws that close any &y or other area of the inside watersHonorable H. D. Dodgen,

Page 2 (WW-965)

to the taking or catching of shrimpthroughout the entire year. " IEmphasis

added1 Pursuing

the necessary

specific

provisions

to make the law clear the Legislature

classified

the coastal

waters of this State as "outside waters"snd "inside waters". This was done in order that the "inside waters" couldhave special

protection

in the breeding

grounds,

etc., of the shrimp. The boatsto be used for the various purposesin the "outside waters"and the "inside wstersn are specifically

defined. For example, Section3, subparagraph (e), provides for a "Conunerclal

Gulf ShrimpBc&'l.
Section3, subsection (f), provides

that a Commercial

Pay-Bait

Shrimp Eioat is used for the purposeof taking shrimp for bait only.
Section3, (i), "Sports Bait-Shrimp

Trawl is a trawl for the purpose of taking or catching

or attempting

to take or catch shrimpfor bait for one's own personal

use."

For the purposeof reaching the conclusion

herein stated

we think it unnecessary

to quote all of the provisions of the Act relating to the sale of shrimp,

etc., Article 4G75b.

but will confineour construction to Section6, and Sectionll,

Section6, subparagraph b, providesfor .s

mesh of one (1) inch mesh or two (2) inch stretch mesh at the time such bag Is new and unused, yet it carries
an exception

which provides,(exceptfor catching bait shrimp

as otherwise

herein provided.)
The size of mesh that may be used for a "Commercial Bay-Bait

ShrimpBoat" operatoris specifically providedfor in Section 6, paragraph (c), subparagraph (l),which reads as follows:

"It shallbe unlawful for any bona fide licensed Commercial Bay-Bait

ShrimpBoat operator to use in the coastal waters of this State,at any time, for the purposeof taking or catching, or attempting

to take or catch, shrimp for bait more than one (1) net at a time, exceptfor a try net not exceeding rive (5) feet as measuredfrom board to board, or to use any net exceeding in size twenty-five

(25) feet measuredfrom board to board or between the extremes

of any other spreading device,or any net havinga mesh size of less than one and one-half (11/2) inchesstretched mesh at the time suchnet is new and unused,or to have in use or on board in the inside waters of this State duringthe closed season thereof

more than one set of trawl doors (or other spreading device) and more than one set of try net doors." [Emphasis added]

Prom observing

the context

of this portionof the Act it is noted that s provision

is made that a "Commercial Bay-BaitShrimpBoat" operatoris prohibitedHonorable H. D. Eodgen,

Page 3 (~~-965)
fromusFng a mesh size of less then one and one-half (11/2) inches stretched mesh at the time such net is new end unused.
The shrimpIndustry and the Game and Fish Commission officers

are well scquainted

with the fact that a new and unused trawl will shrink when treated "it,h presellratives

to preventits being soonerdestroyed by the act of salt mter thereon

and even subjecting a non-treated

net to saltwater will cause shrinlratw

There is no set formula by which the emountof shrinkage may be determined

in the various instances in as much as all operators or shrFmp trawls do not pursue the Identical method of treatment, therefore,

it Is the clearintention

of the Legislature

that a one and one-half (1 l/2) Inch stretched

mesh at *he time such net is new and unusedwill shrinkand become B net smaller

than one and one-half (1 l/2) Inch stretched mesh due to shrinkage. If this were not true, the words "new and unused" vould not have been used. The Legislature Ioxv a treated

net would shrink.

The Act makes it clear that shrimp may be taken by a "CommercialBayBait Shrimp

Boat" for halt purposes only and prohibits

the sale of shrimp

taken by such operator

for human consumption.

We now turn to Section ll of Article 4G75b which reLates to "Sports Bait-Shrimp

Trawl". The full contextof the Section follows:
"Section

Il. It shallbe lawful for any personto take or catch,or attemptto take or catch in the coastal waters of this State,bait shrimp for his own personal use by the use of Cast net, Dip net, Bait trap, or Minnow seinenot largerthan twenty(2Q) feet inlengthmanuallyoperatedon root only vlthout the use of any mechanical means or devices;

and it shall be lawful for aw nerson to take or catch.or attemnt to take or catch, bait shrimp for his own personal use by the use of a "Sports Bait-Shrimp

Trawl" as definedherein. Provided, however, it shallbe unlawfulfor any "SportsBait-Shrimp Trawl" to be In the possession

of any personwithin the coastal waters of this State,tithoutthe owner thereofhaving first procured a license, to be known as a Sports Bait-Shrimp Trawl License,

from the Commission

privileging

such trawl to be used within the coastal waters of this State;provided also, that such trawl shall first have been inspected and properlytagged by the Commission and an inspection

and licensefee of Three Dollars ($3) shallhave been paid to the Commission, also the lic&nse

providedfor herein shall expire on August 31st following the date of Issuance. Provided further,

that It shallbe unlawful for any person to use or have within his possession within the coastal waters any SportsPaItShrimpTrawl having a mesh smallerthan one and one-half (1 l/2) inch stretch

between the knots; and it shallbe unlawful to use or employ doors or other boards or devicesto spreador open suchHo&able H. D. Dodgen, Page 4 (~~-965)

trawlswhich are of greatersize and dimensions than twelve (12) by eighteen (ti) inches, or a total of two hundred and sixteen(216) square inches, providedfurther,

that it shall be unlawful.

to have in possession or to use more than one (1) such trawl per boat and the distance betweenthe doors or other boards or spreading device shalltit exceedtwelve (12) feet. Providedfurther,

that it shall

be unlawfulfor any person taking or catching, or attempting

to take or catch, shrimpfor his own use, under the provisions of this Act, to have within his possession

more than two (2) quarts0r shrimp per person, either fresh shrimp with heads on, or frozen shrimp, or both, to be used for bait purposes only,but not otherwise; provided further

that any personmay take or catch shrimpduringthe open season for his own personal use provided

the catchmeets the count requirements

of this Act, any other provisions or this Act to the contrary

notwithstanding." [%phasis added]

An examination

of Sectionll indicates that the Legislature provided

that a Sports ShrimpTrawl should have a mesh not smaller than one and one-half(11/2) inches betweenthe knots and it is significant to note that they failedto use the language."at

the time such net is new and unused". Sinceboth nets are for the purposeof takingbait shrimponly end sincethe Legislature recognized

that shrInkage

would occur in the mesh of trawls of the Commercial Bay-Bait

Shrimp Boat, therefore,

it Is the opinion

of this Department

that it was clearly the Legislative intentto allow the same tolerance for shrinkage

to a SportsBait-Shrimp Trawlas thst allowed

to a f%mmercial

Bay-Bait

ShrimpTrawl.

Iu considering

your questlon

number 2 we examined all of the sections of House Bill kI75b, Vernon's Annotated

Civil Statutes,

88 well 8s the caption of House Bill 12, supra, and we find that there is no provision for the takingof shrimpother than a try net end a trawl other than in~section ll. It provides that the taking of shrimpfor one% own personal use may be lawfully takenby the use of a Cast net, Dip net, Bait trap or Minnow seineno largerthen twenty (20) feet in length,

manually

operated

on foot withoutthe use of any mechanical means or devices. In the same Sectionll a definition is given of a "Sports Bait-Shrimp Trawl" though it appears that the only personwho may lawfully take or catch shrimp by use of other than a try net and trawl are sports fishermen.
The Legislature

did not we fit to specifically provide for the sizemesh of a Cast net, Dip net, Bait trap or Minnow seine that may be used for a sports fishbrman; Since the Legislature was,dealing

with the subject

of taking shrimp for bait &poses only and saw fit to providethe mesh size of trawls,it is obvious

that it was not intended to place a limitation on the size of mesh of the other nets end seinesreferred to above. This should answeryour question number 2.Bonorable H. &Dodgen, Page 3 (~~-965)

SUMMARY
(1) ArticlebO75b relating to the ta&ing of bait shrimp by Sports Bait-Shrimp

Trawl in which the law prohibits a mesh smsller

then one end one-half (11/2) Inches stretched between the knots intended

the tolerance

for shrinkage

allowed

trawls 

### or Commercial

Bay-Bait

ShrimpBoats.
(2) Cast nets, Dip nets, Bait traps or Ylnnow seines are the only means other than trawl alloved for the taking of shrimp end these implements

may be used only by a sports fisherman.

Yours very truly,

WILL WIIBON Attorney

General

of Texas

BY:~& & HARRISTOLER Assistant

APPRovELk
0PnIIo!IC~EE: W. V. Geppert,

Chairman
BillAUen Arthur .%ndlin MarthaJoeStr6ud Joe&Master
REVIBWEOFORTHEATTQRKMGENERAL BY: IeonardPassmore