The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. All other words and terms in this subchapter shall have
the meanings assigned in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code.
(1) Annual bag limit--The quantity of a species of
a wildlife resource that may be taken from September 1 of one year
to August 31 of the following year.
(2) Artificial lure--Any lure (including flies) with
hook or hooks attached that is man-made and is used as a bait while
fishing.
(3) Bait--Something used to lure any aquatic wildlife
resource.
(4) Cast net--A net which can be hand-thrown over an
area.
(5) Charter Vessel--A vessel less than 100 gross tons
that meets the requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard to carry six or
fewer passengers for hire and that carries a passenger for hire at
any time during the calendar year. A charter vessel with a commercial
permit is considered to be operating as a charter vessel when it carries
a passenger who pays a fee or when there are more than three persons
aboard, including operator and crew.
(6) Circle hook--A hook originally designed and manufactured
so that the point of the hook is turned perpendicularly back toward
the shank of the hook to form a generally circular or oval shape.
(7) Coastal waters boundary--All public waters east
and south of the following boundary are considered saltwater: Beginning
at the International Toll Bridge in Brownsville, thence northward
along U.S. Highway 77 to the junction of Paredes Lines Road (F.M.
Road 1847) in Brownsville, thence northward along F.M. Road 1847 to
the junction of F.M. Road 106 east of Rio Hondo, thence westward along
F.M. Road 106 to the junction of F.M. Road 508 in Rio Hondo, thence
northward along F.M. Road 508 to the junction of F.M. Road 1420, thence
northward along F.M. Road 1420 to the junction of State Highway 186
east of Raymondville, thence westward along State Highway 186 to the
junction of U.S. Highway 77 near Raymondville, thence northward along
U.S. Highway 77 to the junction of the Aransas River south of Woodsboro,
thence eastward along the south shore of the Aransas River to the
junction of the Aransas River Road at the Bonnie View boat ramp; thence
northward along the Aransas River Road to the junction of F.M. Road
629; thence northward along F.M. Road 629 to the junction of F.M.
Road 136; thence eastward along F.M. Road 136 to the junction of F.M.
Road 2678; then northward along F.M. Road 2678 to the junction of
F.M. Road 774 in Refugio, thence eastward along F.M. Road 774 to the
junction of State Highway 35 south of Tivoli, thence northward along
State Highway 35 to the junction of State Highway 185 between Bloomington
and Seadrift, thence northwestward along State Highway 185 to the
junction of F.M. Road 616 in Bloomington, thence northeastward along
F.M. Road 616 to the junction of State Highway 35 east of Blessing,
thence southward along State Highway 35 to the junction of F.M. Road
521 north of Palacios, thence northeastward along F.M. Road 521 to
the junction of State Highway 36 south of Brazoria, thence southward
along State Highway 36 to the junction of F.M. Road 2004, thence northward
along F.M. Road 2004 to the junction of Interstate Highway 45 between
Dickinson and La Marque, thence northwestward along Interstate Highway
45 to the junction of Interstate Highway 610 in Houston, thence east
and northward along Interstate Highway 610 to the junction of Interstate
Highway 10 in Houston, thence eastward along Interstate Highway 10
to the junction of State Highway 73 in Winnie, thence eastward along
State Highway 73 to the junction of U.S. Highway 287 in Port Arthur,
thence northwestward along U.S. Highway 287 to the junction of Interstate
Highway 10 in Beaumont, thence eastward along Interstate Highway 10
to the Louisiana State Line. The waters of Spindletop Bayou inland
from the concrete dam at Russels Landing on Spindletop Bayou in Jefferson
County; public waters north of the dam on Lake Anahuac in Chambers
County; the waters of Taylor Bayou and Big Hill Bayou inland from
the saltwater locks on Taylor Bayou in Jefferson County; Lakeview
City Park Lake, West Guth Park Pond, and Waldron Park Pond in Nueces
County; Galveston County Reservoir and Galveston State Park ponds
#1-7 in Galveston County; Lake Burke-Crenshaw and Lake Nassau in Harris
County; Fort Brown Resaca, Resaca de la Guerra, Resaca de la Palma,
Resaca de los Cuates, Resaca de los Fresnos, Resaca Rancho Viejo,
and Town Resaca in Cameron County; and Little Chocolate Bayou Park
Ponds #1 and #2 in Calhoun County are not considered coastal waters
for purposes of this subchapter.
(8) Community fishing lake--All public impoundments
75 acres or smaller located totally within an incorporated city limits
or a public park, and all impoundments of any size lying totally within
the boundaries of a state park.
(9) Crab--All species within the families Portunidae and Menippidae.
(10) Crab line--A baited line with no hook attached.
(11) Daily bag limit--The quantity of a species of
a wildlife resource that may be lawfully taken in one day.
(12) Day--A 24-hour period of time that begins at midnight
and ends at midnight.
(13) Dip net--A mesh bag suspended from a frame attached
to a handle.
(14) Final processing--The cleaning of a dead wildlife
resource for cooking or storage purposes.
(15) Fish--
(A) Game fish--Alabama bass, blue catfish, blue marlin,
broadbill swordfish, brown trout, channel catfish, cobia, crappie
(black and white), flathead catfish, Guadalupe bass, king mackerel,
largemouth bass, longbill spearfish, pickerel, red drum, rainbow trout,
sailfish, sauger, sharks, smallmouth bass, snook, Spanish mackerel,
spotted bass, spotted seatrout, striped bass, tarpon, tripletail,
wahoo, walleye, white bass, white marlin, yellow bass, and hybrids
or subspecies of the species listed in this subparagraph.
(B) Non-game fish--All species not listed as game fish,
except endangered and threatened fish, which are defined and regulated
under separate proclamations.
(16) Fishing--Taking or attempting to take aquatic
animal life by any means.
(17) Fish length--That straight-line measurement (while
the fish is lying on its side) from the tip of the snout (jaw closed)
to the extreme tip of the tail when the tail is squeezed together
or rotated to produce the maximum overall length.
(18) Fish species names--The names of fishes are those
prescribed by the American Fisheries Society in the most recent edition
of "Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from The United States,
Canada and Mexico."
(19) Fishing guide--A person who, for compensation,
accompanies, assists, or transports a person or persons engaged in
fishing in the water of this state.
(20) Fishing guide deck hand--A person in the employ
of a fishing guide who assists in operating a boat for compensation
to accompany or to transport a person or persons engaged in fishing
in the water of this state.
(21) Folding panel trap--A metallic or non-metallic
mesh trap, the side panels hinged to fold flat when not in use, and
suspended in the water by multiple lines.
(22) Gaff--Any hand-held pole with a hook attached
directly to the pole.
(23) Gear tag--A tag constructed of material as durable
as the device to which it is attached. The gear tag must be legible,
contain the name and address, or customer number, of the person using
the device, and, except for saltwater trotlines and crab traps fished
under a commercial license, the date the device was set out.
(24) Gig--Any hand-held shaft with single or multiple
points.
(25) Handfishing--Fishing by the use of hands only
and without any other fishing devices such as gaff, pole hook, trap,
stick, or spear.
(26) Headboat--A vessel that holds a valid Certificate
of Inspection issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry passengers for
hire. A headboat with a commercial vessel permit is considered to
be operating as a headboat when it carries a passenger who pays a
fee or, in the case of persons aboard fishing for or possessing coastal
migratory fish or Gulf reef fish, when there are more than three persons
aboard, including operator and crew.
(27) Inside waters--All bays, inlets, outlets, passes,
rivers, streams, and other bodies of water landward from the shoreline
of the state along the Gulf of Mexico and contiguous to, or connected
with, but not a part of, the Gulf of Mexico and within which the tide
regularly rises and falls.
(28) Jug line--A fishing line with five or less hooks
and a gear tag tied to a free-floating device.
(29) Lawful archery equipment--Longbow, recurved bow,
and compound bow.
(30) License year--The period of time for which an
annual fishing license is valid.
(31) Natural bait--A whole or cut-up portion of a fish
or shellfish or a whole or cut-up portion of plant material in its
natural state, provided that none of these may be altered beyond cutting
into portions.
(32) Paddle craft--Any non-motorized vessel.
(33) Paddle-craft fishing guide--A person who, for
compensation, accompanies, assists, or transports a person or persons
by means of a non-motorized vessel engaged in fishing in the coastal
waters of this state.
(34) Pole and line--A line with hook, attached to a
pole. This gear includes rod and reel.
(35) Possession limit--The maximum number of a wildlife
resource that may be lawfully possessed at one time.
(36) Purse seine--A net with flotation on the corkline
adequate to support the net in open water without touching bottom,
with a rope or wire cable strung through rings attached along the
bottom edge to close the bottom of the net.
(37) Residence--A permanent structure where a person
regularly sleeps and keeps personal belongings such as furniture and
clothes, but does not include a temporary abode or dwelling such as
a hunting or fishing club, or any club house, cabin, tent, or trailer
house or mobile home used as a hunting or fishing camp, or any hotel,
motel, or rooming house used on a temporary basis.
(38) Sail line--A type of trotline with one end of
the main line fixed on the shore, the other end of the main line attached
to a wind-powered floating device or sail.
(39) Sand Pump--A self-contained, hand-held, hand-operated
suction device used to remove and capture Callianassid ghost shrimp
(Callichirus islagrande) from their burrows.
(40) Seine--A section of non-metallic mesh webbing,
the top edge buoyed upwards by a floatline and the bottom edge weighted.
(41) Spear--Any shaft with single or multiple points,
barbed or barbless, which may be propelled by any means, but does
not; include arrows.
(42) Spear gun--Any hand-operated device designed and
used for propelling a spear, but does not include the crossbow.
(43) Throwline--A fishing line with:
(A) five or less hooks;
(B) one end attached to a permanent fixture;
(C) a float attached at or above the water line; and
(D) a gear tag.
(44) Trap--A rigid device of various designs and dimensions
used to entrap aquatic life, including a man-made device such as a
box, barrel, or pipe.
(45) Trawl--A bag-shaped net which is dragged along
the bottom or through the water to catch aquatic life.
(46) Trotline--A nonmetallic main fishing line with:
(A) more than five hooks;
(B) each end attached to a fixture;
(C) floats attached at or above the water line; and
(D) a gear tag.
(47) Umbrella net--A non-metallic mesh net that is
suspended horizontally in the water by multiple lines attached to
a rigid frame.
(48) Wildlife resources--For the purposes of this subchapter,
all aquatic animal life.
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