Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
orlgiaal to Xr. W. W. Hoyd, aa above lndlaateU."* * h,
ou.ga%d) A. E. ro8d
"¶3lltl
wml@;, in autlolpatian 0r troublb,
Frank Xehano and I r8at on patrol serrioe and
took along with ua tw arfra wltaessees,ard we
IIU~la0 the r0iioring ~~siti0nt
Where wre a ntxber of shdmplag boats
draggbgthel~trawls witblaoneraile of the
Oal~rtanSouthJett~'aadthino~laile frcm
shore of the %ant beaah rront, that ls the beeoh
that lloa just east 0r ths city of o-cbeatoa.
lhsss boat8 belong to and/or w(Pg belag operated
forthe Tstas FL&eriss,LibartyFish andopter
Company, National Sonfood -any and Carlo's
SSaiood, all or Oalveatoa. None or the boat6 ha&
lioeme8, nor dill any of the operatox7'oi the
boat8 bars llcerwas of any kid. Thd* cm
01.aiathatth.e state ha6 no wthorltyfo reQx.im
ofthezaallo8naeofanykWdfortheprlvlletp
of txawlbg or wlalng in t&4 Gulf lrrmpeatlw
oflwtheritlefihreeIasl.~,~lsagussor
thrsefeetfmmnhwe~thatthesearc,nwQabl8
weter8andthatonlyaCoentgmrdmm 0raCUBtoma
om0arham3alawfux~tto bmmltbelr boats,
amlt&atspeolfimllyaTexasQaaw,WaM~hasn0
jurltallotlonaor eirthorifycwerthaa.'
"Ihellweth~tthla mattershwldbe brought
to o tthcmdowninmodlataly.
"!llmDepaFtmemtis lo&& cansltlarablerwa-
me as.nom of these cmzpanies ham3 bo-u&t lloam-
888 r0r um3-l939 aad aonteti,that they sha.U
refum to do 80,
91 nay hmible opialon the responsibility of
the above taattorsshould not be left to the County
or DistriH, Attorney but shoti be alWlJ' "Em"
vlsedbythe AttOrImyG8ZWd’S I%qm%rl;laent.
(Sisnsa) E-m ‘Ip. Fl.Wt
It appear8 frmthaso lottarstbattha xi8~M i
etmpnles are sendJsg their sbl8tping boats into -53
the W&WE
EOR.w. k soya, Fe&821
the(hiLfof~co,olttlafe4leasthanonele~ dl8tant
innathe~~,andtbsnt~~r~~by~instrarla,
wfthout first havingpaid the llaenasfeesprestw;cbed by
Artfole93&a,Vsrwn*8 Azuiotsted Peml Code,and in vfola-
tionofothustatutoryra&atloae ~ovm&g theteklngof
edible aquatio liSe fromthe watsps of thle State ror pay,
barter, aale or 8xohange. Thsse peopl.8are eonten~ that
the State of Texas has no jurliudlotlonwer their flehtag
orshr&&.ng aatlritles
anywhere
lntheGuI.fofNexle0.
In our opinion8uoha oontaation la not well founded
lUlbthatth8 leW18tOthe OOlltm.
The Congrese of the Republic of Texas paeeed en &et
tle;le;F pu&darles whiohwae slgnebby prssl4u&Xowton,
Thstpal-tOf the Aat, WfthPohiOh
W al'8
heretmm&ul, r&&8 as follow:
"Thatfromand efter the a888geof thls80t,
the civlleml~litieel JurLsdgctl0nofthlerc
publfo be and ia hstsbydeolaredtoertend to t&e
follOwin Wuadariee, t0witr bo@mingatthe
mouth or the Sabfne riwr, and x=txUng w8t alm$
theGulfofmxlootbreeleaguesfrmland,tothe
l~onthottbeWoQran&b,thsnoeupths~inolpal,
str0amof saidrfmr to ita 8ouraa...- (1 Omeml*s
xawa ll93)
In the QaaeeOf city of oalreekrn Y. Menerd, es max.
391, in refemlng to that part of the boundary fixed by the
Congress at%hree1eagws frOstlami,* the Court tookooea-
slonto say:
*This clairaof the repubUo upon h8r ooast
maynotlmve beena&&tedbyotharmtions further
thanonemerine leaguefmmthe shore. :;zYell,
Tide Waters, 2; Vattell, 129. That would V- muoh
have depended upon her poww to enforoe her alaiPq
as we haveseenIn the cam of the Brltlshwas and
Danish sound, ~eatouLfiwofEat5.one,lS2-158;l
Kmt. coal.29.R
#2mn the Republic of T~%w b%Oati?9by emmtiOn one,
or the states or the ublon, it, a& a State, did not rellnqtiah
but retained "all the raoaat and lmapproprleted landtrkyk43
wlthlilits llmlts." "Ite llmlts+'had been defined by the Con-
mess of the Republic as ki&.nnln& *at the mouth of the Sabine
rim ara¶mumIagwastaloagtheGuSfofHeriaot~li!tagueo
rl%m~tot&0mouthO;fth%Rl0GraRd%." -
Hterb880ebga8*teGtBsJngis&ture~tinrsb
its *8xolnltlYzi
rightto the $lrlsK%t2oRoverthe Sal lwlud-
edinthel.isdtr3orthelateRwublloai
__"whatever
.- soil below~lcrr-ratermarkis the
subjeot of erolwlte property and ownerahlp,
beZang~totheStateon~o6emaritime border
and althin whose territory it llw, oubjeet to
any lawful grants of that. aoil by the State, or
the soveW.$n povmrwhiahgovexmil ita terrltxwy, .
beron, the declaration 0r Indepexulenoe.w
In referrlngto the above quotation, the oourt in
Xanohesterv. %laasnohusetts,supra, made this oomeut:
*But this soil l8'heltlbythe State, not
only subjeotts, but Zn 6aae 11enme
in tnd ior,
theenjoymentof aertai.npubllorights,es~ng
which is the ammon liberty of thldngttsh, as
well shell-fish a8 .Roating fi6h."
mDunharav.~ph~,SOray~,itawsheldthat
lnthe distributlonofpowers between thegeneral 8nd State
~~~,ther~ttothefis~c#andtheprnrsftore-
@ate the iisherfen on the ooaste and in.the tide-wGer6 or.
the State, were left by the Coxmtltutioa of the United States,
tiththfa States, subjeot only to suah pommi a8 C01gx-86~ iaw
~~xerolse in the regulation of eameme,
$.II?.uI?. foreign and
f .
Theoourt~have neverheld,Insofar
aswehavebeen
able to asoertain, that the regtitatlonof the flaheries dthln
the territorial limits of a State was a regulation of -0.
In ?.knoheeterV. &ssachusetts, eupra, it was al.608afdr
These (flisherles)remain under the exolu-
sive aontrol of the State, wbioh~has oonaequently
the right, in its dlsoretion, to approprlata its
tide-waters and their beds to be Umd.by it8 p@-
ple as a oormon for taking and aultivatlng fish,
so far aa it my ba &one without obetru0tlng navi-
EatIon."
The above cited ease is also authority for the pro-
position that a State canregulate fishing in the navigable
coastal waters within its territory, in the abseuoe of any
regulation by the Uit.itMStates. We knaw of uo suoh attempted
psa;&Latlonof fisheries appli,aableto suqh w&?#rplOf this State.
In the cam of Foon P. MU.ler, 234 S.E. 575,~Jullge
Fly, speakLng for the Court, saldr
Bon. W. W. Boy& Pa5e 6
.
"TheStateofTexas dsolbns,throPghaCtj-
cl8 39S0, Vemon*e Saylee* Statutes, thati
r1All of the public rIver6, bayous, Zsgoo~,
lakes, bays and fnlete inthisstateandallfhaf
Partofthe Gulf ofMexioowIthInth8 ~urlsdi6tlan
ofthis etate,tog6therwlththel.r beds andbotfcnr,
and all the produsts thsreoi,shallbe, mmtinrrr,
-anb swab the property O? the state of TSXW, ex-
oept 60 far as their use~ehall be pen&ted by the
laws oi this state.'
"Tens, shoe the yoke of Hexioo we thrown
o??inl836 anUehebe6am6 an indspendentgovem-
ment, ha6 nsverforonemmmnt lost the eorarel@y
over her lakes, rlv6r6, bayou6, la5oon6, bay6, and
blete axidthe bed of tha Gul? of Efexloo?or t-e :
miles ?romtha ooast?romthe mmthoftho Sablne.
river to the mouth of the Rio Gramle. By treaty
Texas enteredinfofhe Am~loanIRrlon,a?terharirrg
been an Independent governwnt for nearly lo years,
end th8p~pSrtyehehaU Inher rlvers,bayous la-
goons, lakes, bays, and inlete and the tJ.mae-mf.le
Gulf zone, as well as all her put&lo lands, were
reeerml aud retained by the t6rn~ of her treaty
with the United States. The statute q~tedj.6 mre-
lya deolaratlono?rlghts thatreulredno statute
to give themforceandvltallty. ah8 fish and game
are the property of the state, and she not only ha8
the powqto regulate and control thc~taldngo??lsh
antikilling;of gmeci but to absolutely pmhiblt the
SoJIm. Sterrett v. dibeon (l&x. Cfv. App.) 168 5. 81.
16. That propoeltIon l6 ti 10-r open r0r d.tseuselern,'
nor Is the further proposition that the state has not
only the authority to regulate or prohibit the oap-
ture of fish or slaughter of game, but has the au-
thority to absolutely regulate or prohibit t$ 2
of such ganteor fl6h when klU6d or taken.
prohibit the sale of gam and &es regulate the
sale of fish, oysters, and other products Of Stretue3,
bays, lakes, and estuaries."
It will be noted that the court would apparexrkly~~t
the JuriedlcrtlonOS ths stats over its flsherfecto *thre6 miles
from the mast fFo!nthe mxth of the Sablne river to th6 nm&h
of the Rio Grande.w The question before the oourt was not one
of the 6x&x& o? the State's territorial jurisdlcrtiou,but one
invvlvlng the right o? an allen to sell ilshwhiah had beeOm8 a
part o? the uomuerce o? the country, and whloh right had been
denied ~LLII,
but grantedfo,oitizens of the State. Thereiore,
,the quotation Is dlatumand does not deolde the question o? the
&teat o? the territorial ~urlediotion of the State over it8
ooaetalwaters.
Iaeofer aswhpvebe~a~etoaeoerteia,t~ques-
tlon of whether the Stat0 has jurledldlon over its ?leh0rlee
to ths extent of its deolared eastern boundary, Wmbe lmgme
?rctz~leiad,~
oroalyoaeleaguefranlte shores has awbrbeea
judlolally determined. Ebwever,the sots referred to lu the
letters herein quoted mre ooamlttedwellwlthlatb unqw7
tloaed terrltorlal jurisdiction ofthls State.
That part of the opinion In Peon V. Killer, sup-
dealingwith the authority of the State t0 oontrolaad regu-
late the taking of fish ?roz~~ltetidal waters is sotid law,
abuudantly supported by both State and Federal authorities.
Smith Y. Marylsnd,~lElBoxri71, 74; EoCreadyv. Vlrglala,94
0. 8, 391; mnoheeter Y. Idaeeaahusette,199 U. S. 240; Lawt0a
v. Steele,162 IT.S. 133; Loulelansv. xissleslppl,202 U. 8.
1; New York.81 rel Kennedy Y. Baoker, 24l U. S. 560; lrillbl:
Y. KoLaughlln, 281 U.S. 264; Sterrett 'I.Gibson, 168 S.W. 16;
roonv.Xllle~ etux,234S.w. 573;Stephensoav.W00d (Sup.
ct.) 34 S. W. (2d) 246; 19 Tex. Jur. 686; 11 R.C.L. lO29.
also see I&my Y. Robinson (Sup. Ct.), 56 8. W. (2d) 436.
Wherever'w have seed the t6na "fish* lathla letter,
*' we have wed it la its generio stmee, as being desoriptlve of
marin lI.?egenerally,laolubingaotonly ilehaethatwordls
oonmmly understood, but including oysters, elms, ehrlmp, erabe,
terraplns,turtles, lobeters,aud allother kinds andformot
marine life embraoedwlthln the provleloaeof Artlale 4026, Re-
vised Statutes, and by whloh Artiule the State has aeearted it.6
marship and authority to regulate the taking thereof la tha
waters therein desorlbed.
You are advised t&at we Iran of ao reasonwhy any
pereoale exemptimnthelaws o?th.le state regulating, pro-
hibiting, taxl.ugandgov8miugthetaldn&o??ishin~the u0astal
wsters o? this state. The&=e?ore, we have. in view of the au-
thorltfee~cltod, been foroed totbe indubitable aonoluslon that
thetirshiag conoezae aamod ln?br.Flagg*e letter am amenable
to all of our laws governing the taking of fish, shrimp and
other marine life ln the Gulf of WaxI. wltbln the territorial
llmlte of this State, which unboubt~ aanuot be less than one
league from its shore line.
an.W. W.Boy'd,Fage 8
Youre~v0z-ytruly
APPROVED JUL i4, 1939
meletant
eeloa
Austin,.Teres