R-770 

177 

OF'FICE OF 

THE AIYTORNEY GENERAL 

PRICE DANIEL 

~~RNxzY GENERAL 

Hon. James C. Martin 

County Attorney 

NU8C88 county 

Corpus Christi, Texas 

Nov. 15, 1947 

Opinion No. V-431 

R8: Constitutionality of H.B. 

380, Acts 50th LegislatUr8, R-S., 1947, partaining to taking and 

sale of shrimp. 

Dear Sir: 

You request a ruling relative to the constitutionality Of ROUS8 Bill 380, being Chapter 107, Acts Of 

th8 50th Legislature, 1947, Regular Session, page 149, 

clm8LldiQ3 v. P. c., Art. 952 L-11, pertaining to the taking and sale of shrimp. You state: 

"It is COnt8nd8d by some partics that 

HOWE Bill No. 380 iS UILoOnstitUtiOna1 in vi8W 

of tha provisions of said law wh1ch.permit.s to 

b8 legally Used in Galveston CoUIity, Texas, a 

board not more than 20" wide, and not more than 

60" long, and In other counties of the State, 

a board not more than 12" wide and not mor8 

than l8? long. Those contending the law to bye 

unconstitutional maintain it violatss the,Texas 

Constitution In that It Is discriminatory, and 

is a local or special law." 

The particular paragraph which you refer to Is 

found in Vernon's Annotated Penal Code, Article 952 L-11, 

as amended, and reads as follows: 

"Sec. 1:. . . . 

"It shall b8 UUlaWfUl f~Or any person t0 

take or assist In the taking of shrimp from 

the inland waters of this State by the use 

and operation of a bait trawl towed by a 

power boat, which said bait trawl shall be 

more than ten (10) feet at the mouth, as 

measured along the webbing attaahed to the 

.cork line, or twenty-five (25) feet in 

length, or by the us8 and anployment of 
, 

178 Hon. James C. Martin, page 2, V-431 

doors or Other boards to spread and open 

said bait trawl which are of greater size 

or dimension than twelve (12) by eighteen 

(18) Inches, or to tow or assist in the 

towing of more than one such bait net or 

trawl from a power boat, or to tow other 

boats engaged in taking bait shrimp; and 

it shall be unlawful for any person operating a bait trawl to have on board any boat 

any amount of bait shrimp during the closed saason in inland waters as above provided in excess or one hundred and fifty (150.) 

pounds of shrimp In their natural state 

with hea.ds attached. Provided that during 

such closed season in Galveston County it 

shall be lawful to take shrimp for bait by 

the use and amployment of doors or boards' 

of not greater dimension than twenty (20) 

by sixty (60) inch8S and to possess not 

more than two hundred and fiftg~ (250) 

pounds Of shrimp with heads attached, . .~ ." 

The State Is th8 owner of the fish, shrimp and 

other products of the tidal waters of the Gulf of Mexico 

within the jurisdiction of this State. Arti&le 4026, V. 

c. s.; Raymond v. Kibbe, 95 S.W. 727, 729, 730;.Stephenson v. Wood,. 34 s. w; (26.) 246, 119,Tex. 964; Tuttle v. 

Wood. 35 S. W. (2d) 1061. writ refused: Mccreadv v:Virgini;, 94 U. S.:391, 24 L. Ed. 248; Geer v. Conhectlout, 

161 U. S. 519. 

Article III, Section 56 of the T8Xas Constitution, aft8r prohibiting the Legislature from passing 

"any local or special law n in certain enumeratad instances, oontains th8 following provision: 

" . . . . provided, ,that nothing herein 

contained shall be construed to prohibit the' 

Legislature from passing speaial laws for the 

preservation of the game and fish of this State 

in certain localities." 

In Stephenson v. Wood, Civil Appeals, 35 S. W. 

(2d) 794, the Galveston Court in construing this provision of the statute said: 

"It occurs to us that by the 'paragraph 

last quoted the~~framers of the Constitution 

meant to declarethat nothing in the Constitution should prohibit the Legislature from 
Hon. Jam8S C. Martin, page 3, V-431 

passing laws, 'special or local,( for the 

preservation of the game and fish of this 

state, whether made to apply to the Who18 

state or to certain localities without notic8 required in the passage Of laws relative to the subjects mentioned in sections 

56 and 57 of article 3 of the Constitution." 

It is immaterial that a game law applies to 

some counties and not to others or that different laws 

apply to different counties. The counties, as such, have 

no right to complain that the game laws applicable to it 

are different from the game laws applicable to certain 

other counties. For instance, there are very few counties that have the same squirrel laws. Whatever the law 

is in a particular county, it applies equally and without diScriminStion to all persons in the county. The 

State owns the fish and game, which are ferae naturae, 

and through its Legislature it may prohibit their taking altogether, or place such restrictions on their taking, as it may se8 fit, either as to the place or th8 

means of taking, or both. See authorities cited above. 

In Tuttle v, Wood, San Antonio Court of Civil 

Appeals, 1930, 35 S. W. (2d) 1061, the court said: 

'1. . , . It must be conc8d8d that the 

state has the inherent power, to be exercised through the Legislature, to regulate the 

taking of fish and shrimp from its public 

waters, -and to prohibit from time to time such 

taking, in order to conserve those natural resources for the ultimate benefit of all the people. So long as that power is reasonably exercised by the legislative authority, no other 

branch of the government may interfere therewith. Ordinarily, the necessity or reasonableness of regulation or prohibition in specific 

cases, for the time being, are left to the discretion of the Legislature, whose determination 

thereof, in the exercise of a sound discretion, 

is conclusive upon the courts. . . .v 

The Legislature of T8XaS is authorized to enact special laws for the preservation of game and fish 

without notice required for the passage of "special or 

looal laws", and it is immaterial that such laws apply 

to certain localities and not to others, 
Hon. James ~C. Martin, page 4$ V-431 

SUMMARY 

House Bill No, 380 (Acts 50th Leg, 19klo 

'Ch. l&I?, p0 149) amending Art, 952, L-11, V, 

?. co, pertaining to the taking end sale ef 

shrimp, and provfdfng that there may be uaed 

fn Galveston County, Texas fn a bait trawl for 

the takfng of shrimp, a board not more than 

20" wide and not more than 60" long, and in 

tihsr oountirs l f the State a board not mor8 

than 12" wide nor more than 18" longs, is conatitutional. 

Yours very truly 

. 

XITOIU'IEYGENSML OF TXM 

-1 

David Wuntch 

.Assirta& 

ATTORNEY GXhXRAL '