:- THE :ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ?lxxAs
honorableH. D. Dodgen ! opinm NO. ~965 %.xuIT~v~ Secretary : we and Fish Conanission Re: (1) Const~ction of House Bill ws.lton Building l2,Acts 56thLegislature1959, Austin,Texas Article 4075b, Vernon'sAnnotated Civil Statutes,relativeto size 0r travl that my be lawiullyusea for sportsfishermenIn the taking of sbrlmpby SportsBait-Shrimp Trawl; (2) and the rcrvfulmeans and method of th' taking of sh+imp Dear Mr. Dodger other than by trawls.
You have request+en opinionof this Departmentgn the a+me subject matterand your .inquiry.reLstesto the shriahageallowanceon.SportsBsit-Shrimp Trawlsas comparedto shHnka&e allowedon Oxnmerci.slBay-Bait-ShrimpTrawlsa$ your question numbq 2 posing the que@&masto whetherany other type of seines' or nets other than trawls couldbe lawfullyused for the taking of shrimp.
The Legislaturepassed,thel&s Shrimp Coneeivattae~c$.BouseBill l.2, ch. l&l, Acts 19!5g,56th.Legislature, which originalbIlLwas exxctedinto law end is now carriedin Vernon16Annot+ed Civil Statutesas Article 4075th In suchlaw the Legisliturein Section1 provided In part as follows:
"Sectlon1. This.Ad sbllbe lammasthe "Peras Shrimp Conservation Act' and It is hereby declaredby the Legislatureof the State of Texas as t6 be the public policy of this State that the Sbdup resourcesofthe.St&e of Texas be conservedand pro- tected from deptitia end waste in ordezthat the peopleof Texas and their posteritymay enjoy the mo&:.reaeonableand equitable prlvfiegesin the ownershipand taking of such shrimpremur'6es, cmdthatthe shrimp industryofTexas be protectedfrommlawful encroachmentand be promotedend fosteredconsistentwith the geueralgood of the people of this State md to thos&ends, and.ln the interestof achievingfair, impartial,and unifornlaw enforce- ment. lt is furtherdeclaredby the Legislatureof Texas to be.the Public Policy.cifthie.Statethat any and all laws. acts, bills, rules,regulations.proclamationsor orders .relating to.shrimpor the shrimp lnduetryshall be carriedou+ under this Act, any other provisionbf.the .I.awto the contrarynotwithstanding; provided.how- ever nothing In this Act shall be construedto affect or repealany existinglaws that close any &y or other area of the insidewaters HonorableH. D. Dodgen,Page 2 (WW-965)
to the taking or catchingof shrimpthroughoutthe entire year." IEmphasisadded1
Pursuingthe necessaryspecificprovisionsto make the law clear the Legislatureclassifiedthe coastalwaters of this State as "outsidewaters"snd "insidewaters". This was done in order that the "insidewaters"could have specialprotectionin the breedinggrounds,etc., of the shrimp. The boatsto be used for the variouspurposesin the "outsidewaters"and the "insidewstersn are specificallydefined. For example,Section3, subparagraph(e), provides for a "ConunerclalGulf ShrimpBc&'l.
Section3, subsection(f), providesthat a CommercialPay-BaitShrimp Eioatis used for the purposeof taking shrimpfor bait only.
Section3, (i), "SportsBait-ShrimpTrawl is a trawl for the purposeof taking or catchingor attemptingto take or catch shrimpfor bait for one'sown personaluse."
For the purposeof reachingthe conclusionherein statedwe think it unnecessaryto quote all of the provisionsof the Act relatingto the sale of shrimp,etc., but will confineour construction to Section6, and Sectionll, Article4G75b.
Section6, subparagraph b, providesfor .smesh of one (1) inch mesh or two (2) inch stretchmesh at the time such bag Is new and unused,yet it carries an exceptionwhich provides,(exceptfor catchingbait shrimpas otherwiseherein provided.)
The size of mesh that may be used for a "CommercialBay-BaitShrimpBoat" operatoris specifically providedfor in Section6, paragraph(c), subparagraph (l), which reads as follows:
"It shallbe unlawfulfor any bona fide licensedCommercial Bay-BaitShrimpBoat operatorto use in the coastalwaters of this State,at any time, for the purposeof taking or catching,or