The Honorable Clayton T. Garrison Executive Director Parks &Wildlife Department John H. Reagan Building Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Mr. Garrison: Opinion No. H-285 Re: In the event that a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat is transferred from one individual or firm toanother must the license stay with the boat ofissuance, or would the license be cancelled if the boat owner should sell his shrimp boat toanother individual? Article 407513,Vernon’s Texas Civil **Statutes,** the Texas Shrimp Conservation Act, calls for the licensing of shrimp boats. Section 5(a) makes it unlawful to **use** any commercial bay shrimp boat “without the owner thereof having first procured a license” and 55(c) makes similar provision for commercial bait-shrimp boats. Your question to usis:

“In the event that acommercial bay or bait shrimp boat is transferred from one individual or firm to another, must the license stay with the boat ofissuance, or would the license be canceled if the boat owner should sell his shrimp boat toanother individual?” Your question is prompted by two apparently contradictory provisions ofthe Act. Indetermining the meaning ofthese statutes and the answer to your question, it is necessary that we look tothe apparent interest ofthe Legislature in adopting these provisions. 53Tex. Jur. Zd, Statutes, $125, p. 180. One ofthe cardinal rules ofconstruction is that we look tothe statute as awhole so as to give effect to the entire act. 53Tex. Jur. Zd, Statutes, $160, p. 229.

p. 1329The Honorable Clayton T. Garrison, page 2(H-285)

There are **numerous** provisions ofthe statute which weld indicate that it is the boat that is to be licensed. Others indicate that it is the owner and not the boat. A reading ofall these provisions does not make the answer toyour question clear. The strongest indication that it is the owner who is licensed lies in the provision of $5(b) that a Bay Shrimp Boat License shall be issued only,to persons who have filed affidavits that they will maintain adequate facilities to conduct such business and that they intend to derive the major portion oftheir livelihood from **corn** mercial shrimp fishery. Surely this is strong evidence that the license is personal to the applicant and should not be transferred with atransfer ofownership ofthe boat. But, $5(d) provides :

. . . Not more than one Commercial Bay Shrimp Boat License and not more than one Commercial Bait-Shrimp Boat License shall be issued per licensing year for each boat. ” This language certainly could be interpreted to provide that the license stays with the boat, even ifsownership is transferred. However, in order to reconcile the various provisions oftheAct, we construe.§5(d) to mean that not more than one License ofeach type can be issued to one owner for one boat and that, iffor some violation a license is cancel=, nonew license may beissued tothat owner on that boat during that License year. However, anew owner acquiring the boat could be issued anew license.With this interpretation, it seems to us that the most reasonable construction ofArticle 407513,V. T. C.S
., although surely not the only possible one, is that the licenses called for by theArticle are personal tothe owner and should be canceled if the boat is transferred toa new owner.

p. 1330The Honorable Clayton T. Garrison, page 3 (H-285)

SUMMARY Commercial bay or bait boat licenses issued under the Texas Shrimp Conservation Act are personal tothe owners and should be canceled upon a transfer ofownership ofthe boat. Very truly yours,

Attorney General ofTexas

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman Opinion Committee

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