Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN .‘ionorable 3, D. Dodgen Exeoutive Seoretary- Gaae , Z’leh and Oyster Co,~ission Austin, Texaa opinion KO. o-7457 Authority of th Zish and Oyater ertain c_uestions fishermn and 9, 46 Leg., p. 238, , ch. 55, and oodi- fied as Art101 d Ienal Code, The question you s he above mentioned nnd Oyster Con&s- fuse to issue a i,on- emah’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 s, es shown by the newspaper copies of Acts 1946, i:OE. 78 and 210, of the Louisiana Legislature, furnished to you by Iion. Isaac Chapman of the Louisiana Departmnt of h~ildlife and Fisheries, which copies we assuL:e to be correct. Hon. E. D. Dodgen, page 2 Our Artiole 934b-1 prohlbits (Sea. 3) any non-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 pro- curihg a Non-Resident Comeroial Piehermnls License, and prohibits (Sea, 4) the, use of a non-resident .oomneroial fishing boat for the same purpoaea, or any of them, without firat proourlng a Ron-Resident Cosmeroial Biehiug Boat License. Sea. 5 of said Article provides: “The &use, Fish and Oyster Comnlssion of T6Xam, or its authorized agent or agents, shall have the right and authority to refuse to sell or grant any suoh Ron-resident Comaroial Fishernsn*e Lioense or Non-resident Comeroial Fishing Boat License to the residents of any State that nay now or 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 and oysterm, oontain substantielly similar provieions. But an important differehoe between the regulations of the two states appears when we oonsider the territory in whldh eaoh permits non-residents to engage in oomaarolnl fishing for shrimp and ‘oysters. Sea, 6 of our Article 934b-1 provideat “The licensed comneroial fiahermn, resident or non-resident, uiay fish ooamercially in the ooestal wate’r6 bounded on the east by a Line drawn from 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 known aa 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.” Thus It is seen that in Texas a non-resident, rhen licensed, has the sam privileges, aa to the territory in which he nay en- gage in ooameroial fishing, aa the resident oommerolel fishernan. Not so in Louisiana, Act No. 78 of 1946 (Sec. 4, amending Sea. 10 of Aot lie. 143 of 1942) restriots the shrimping operations of non- resident oomeroial f iehermen, and non-resident oomeroial f ishihg Aonorable EL D. Dod@n, paga 3 boats, to a relatively 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 300 miles) 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 privi- lseoa or lloenaea to the aitlzens of this bfate equal to those granted to non-residenta by tha State of ilsxas radar our ijon- Zesfdent 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 6 KM- iIe side& Commroial Fishihg Joa t iioeme , or both, ta a resident of Loulsiaha wheu agplioc,tion is DDE therrsfor ahd tkm reqJircd fee offered in payment. The clippings froa the Saton 20uza state-TIma, containing the oited Louisiana s~tatutes, aTa returned herewith. N-7