**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN** 

.‘ionorable 3, D. Dodgen Exeoutive SeoretaryGaae
, Z’leh and Oyster Co,~ission Austin, Texaa opinion KO. o-7457 Authority of th Zish and Oyater

fied as Art101 question you s ertain c_uestions fishermn and 9, 46 Leg., p. 238,

, ch. 55, and oodid Ienal Code, The

he **above** mentioned nndOyster Con&sfuse to issue ai,onemah’s iicensa or a Fishing 3oat License ate Of Louisiana viheh is mde for either or both. of such mGuired fee offered in paynent’?W
ion calls for a ooinpariaon of the provisions with the oorresponding provisions of the 1946, i:OE. s, es shownby the newspaper copies of Acts

78 and 210, of the Louisiana Legislature, furnished to you **by** Iion. Isaac Chapmanof the Louisiana Departmnt of h~ildlife andFisheries, which copies weassuL:e to be correct.Hon. E. D. Dodgen, page 2

OurArtiole 934b-1 prohlbits (Sea. 3) anynon-resident coinmtilal risherman rrom taking or aesisting in taking any fish or 

### shrbap or oysterr or any other edible aquatio life from the tidal salt waters of this State without first procurihg aNon-Resident Comeroial Piehermnls License, and prohibits (Sea, 4) the,use of anon-resident .oomneroial fishing boat for the samepurpoaea, or any of them, without firat proourlng aRon-Resident Cosmeroial Biehiug Boat License. Sea. 5of said Article provides:

“The &use, Fish andOyster Comnlssion of T6Xam, or its authorized agent or agents, shall have the right and authority to refuse to sell or grant any suohRon-resident Comaroial Fishernsn*e Lioense or Non-resident Comeroial Fishing Boat License to the residents of any State that nay nowor hereafter refuse to sell or grant equal privileges or lioensss to the oitizens of this~State.” The olted acts of Louisiana, whioh relate to the taking of shrimp andoysterm, oontain substantielly similar provieions. But an important differehoe between the regulations of the two states appears whenweoonsider the territory in whldh eaoh permits non-residents to engage in oomaarolnl fishing for shrimp and‘oysters. Sea, 6of our Article 934b-1 provideat

“The licensed comneroial fiahermn, resident or non-resident, uiayfish ooamercially in the ooestal wate’r6 bounded on the east by aLine drawnfrom the center of Sablne Pass, outting aorosa the li;ast Sabine Jetty at a point two thousand (2,000) feet north of the present fishing pier knownaa the Jaycee pier, and 

### extending three (3) marine leagues into the Gulf of Xsxioo, following along the coast line of T6xaa to the present acknowledged boundary between the State of Texas aad the Republlo of Mexloo.” ThusIt is seen that in Texas anon-resident, rhen licensed, has the sam privileges, aa to the territory in which henay engage in ooameroial fishing, aa the resident oommerolel fishernan. **Not so**  **in Louisiana,**  Act No. 78of 1946 (Sec. 4, amending Sea. 10 of Aot lie. 143 of 1942) restriots the shrimping operations of nonresident oomeroial fiehermen, and non-resident oomeroial fishihg

### AonorableELD. Dod@n, paga 3

boats, 

### to arelatively mall area F,rst or the 3Jissiraippi Rlwr, lesviug the Whole 

### or the 

### tidal waters from the Xisaisrippi afvsr Tieat to the **Texas** border (ah air-lina diatahce of som 300miles) 

### aa *restricted tidal watars of the Stat6 of Louisiana,* in which only bona fide residents of Louislana rta’ fish for ehrlxp 

### far oomercial gurpoaes. **Aot No.**  **210 of**  1946 oonta.iha the aamv 

### territorial restriotion :aa to the taking of both shrFap and 

### oystera by lioenaed non-resident oo;llaeroial 9ieheraen and fishing 

### boatr.Thus the State of Louisiana refuses to sell 

### or grant privilseoa or lloenaea to the aitlzens of this bfate equal to those granted to non-residenta **by tha**  **State of**  **ilsxas** radar our ijonZesfdent Oomarcial ~ishamants aEd lion-im8ideut CorPmsroia~ Fishing 9oat Lioenaea. It is therefore our opinion that the Gam, Plah and Oyster Comisrlon 

### or Texas has the right and authority to rsfuee to iseue either 

### a&oh-kesideat iomeroial Slishar.mhls iiaehs,d, or 6KMiIeside& Commroial Fishihg Joat iioeme , or both, ta a resident of Loulsiaha wheuagplioc,tion is DDE therrsfor ahdtkmreqJircd fee offered in payment. The clippings froa the Saton 20uza state-TIma, containing the oited Louisiana s~tatutes, aTareturned herewith. N-7