| (a) There are no public waters closed to the taking
and retaining of fish, except as provided in this subchapter.
(b) Game fish may be taken only by pole and line, except
as provided in this subchapter.
(c) The bag and possession limits set forth in this
subchapter do not apply to the possession or landing of fish lawfully
raised under an offshore aquaculture permit issued under Subchapter
C of this chapter (relating to Introduction of Fish, Shellfish, and
Aquatic Plants).
(d) Fish caught in federal waters in compliance with
a federal fishery management plan may be landed in Texas.
(e) In Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Ector,
El Paso, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth, Kinney, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves,
Terrell, Upton, Val Verde, Ward, and Winkler counties, the only fishes
that may be used or possessed for bait while fishing are common carp,
fathead minnows, gizzard and threadfin shad, sunfish (Lepomis), goldfish,
golden shiners, Mexican tetra, Rio Grande cichlid, and silversides
(Atherinidae family).
(f) There is no open season on porpoises, dolphins
(mammals), whales, or sawfishes (Pristis pectinata and P. pristis).
(g) It is unlawful:
(1) for any person to take or attempt to take fish
by any means, or at any time or place, other than as permitted under
this subchapter;
(2) for any person to possess fish within a protected
length limit or in greater numbers than as permitted under this subchapter;
(3) for any person, while fishing on or in public waters,
to have in possession fish in excess of the daily bag limit or fish
within a protected length limit as established for those waters;
(4) for any person to land by boat or person any fish
within a protected length limit, or in excess of the daily bag limit
or possession limit established for those fish;
(5) for any person to use game fish or any part thereof
as bait, except for processed catfish heads used as crab-trap bait
by a licensed crab fisherman, provided the catfish is obtained from
an aquaculture facility permitted to operate in the United States.
A person who uses catfish as bait under this paragraph shall, upon
the request of a department employee acting within the scope of official
duties, furnish appropriate authenticating documentation, such as
a bill of sale or receipt, to prove that the catfish was obtained
from a legal source;
(6) for any person to:
(A) possess a finfish of any species, except broadbill
swordfish, shark or king mackerel, taken from public water (salt water
or fresh water) that has the head removed unless the fish has been:
(i) finally processed and delivered to a final destination
or to a certified wholesale or retail dealer; or
(ii) finally landed on the mainland, a peninsula, or
barrier island not including jetties or piers and is not transported
afterwards by boat; or
(B) possess a finfish of any species taken from coastal
water, except broadbill swordfish or king mackerel, that has the tail
removed unless the fish has been:
(i) finally processed and delivered to a final destination
or to a certified wholesale or retail dealer; or
(ii) has been finally landed on the mainland, a peninsula,
or barrier island not including jetties or piers and is not transported
afterwards by boat.
(7) for any person to use any vessel to harry, herd,
or drive fish including but not limited to operating any vessel in
a repeated circular course, for the purpose of or resulting in the
concentration of fish for the purpose of taking or attempting to take
fish;
(8) for any person to release into the public waters
of this state a fish with a device or substance implanted or attached
that is designed, constructed or adapted to produce an audible, visual,
or electronic signal used to monitor, track, follow, or in any manner
aid in the location of the released fish;
(9) for any person to knowingly take, kill, or disturb
sea turtles or sea turtle eggs in or from the waters of the State
of Texas;
(10) for any person to knowingly take or possess a
diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) or their eggs unless the
person is authorized to do so under a permit issued under Chapter
69, Subchapter J of this title (relating to Scientific, Educational,
and Zoological Permits);
(11) for any person to take or kill shell-bearing mollusks,
hermit crabs, starfish, or sea urchins from November 1 through April
30 within the following boundary: the bay and pass sides of South
Padre Island from the East end of the north jetty at Brazos Santiago
Pass to the West end of West Marisol drive in the town of South Padre
Island, out 1,000 yards from the mean high-tide line, and bounded
to the south by the centerline of the Brazos Santiago Pass;
(12) for any person to take, kill, or possess more
than 15 univalve snails (all species), to include no more than two
of each of the following species: lightening whelk, horse conch, Florida
fighting conch, pear whelk, banded tulip, and Florida rocksnail;
(13) for any person to fish for any species of reef
fish as defined in 50 C.F.R. Part 622 unless the person:
(A) is also in possession of a descending device or
venting tool that is rigged and ready for use; and
(B) deploys the descending device or venting tool on
all fish exhibiting signs of barotrauma (a condition caused by expansion
of gases inside a fish, such as the stomach coming out of the mouth,
bulging eyes, bloated belly, and/or distended intestines) that are:
(i) released following catch; and
(ii) are reef fish as described in this paragraph;
or
(14) for any person to:
(A) purchase or use more finfish (red drum) tags during
a license year than the number and type authorized by the commission,
excluding duplicate tags issued under Parks and Wildlife Code, §46.006;
(B) use the same finfish tag for the purpose of tagging
more than one finfish;
(C) use a finfish tag in the name of another person;
(D) use a tag on a finfish for which another tag is
specifically required;
(E) catch and retain a finfish required to be tagged
and fail to immediately attach and secure a tag, with the day and
month of catch cut out, to the finfish at the narrowest part of the
finfish tail, just ahead of the tail fin;
(F) have in possession both a Red Drum Tag and a Duplicate
Red Drum Tag issued to the same license or saltwater stamp holder;
or
(G) have in possession both an Exempt Red Drum Tag
and a Duplicate Exempt Red Drum Tag issued to the same license holder.
(H) have in possession:
(i) both a Spotted Seatrout Tag and a Duplicate Spotted
Seatrout Tag issued to the same license or saltwater stamp holder;
(ii) both an Exempt Angler Spotted Seatrout Tag and
a Duplicate Exempt Angler Spotted Seatrout Tag issued to the same
license holder; or
(iii) both a Bonus Spotted Seatrout Tag and a Duplicate
Spotted Seatrout Tag issued to the same license or saltwater stamp
holder.
(h) Harvest Log.
(1) The provisions of this subsection apply to any
person in possession of a license lawfully purchased by any means
other than through an automated point-of-sale system.
(2) A person who takes a red drum or spotted seatrout
in excess of the maximum length limit established in this chapter
for those species shall complete, in ink, the harvest log on the back
of the hunting or fishing license, as applicable, immediately upon
kill, or, in the case of fish, upon retention.
(i) Alternative Licensing System.
(1) The requirements of this title that require the
attachment of license tags to wildlife resources do not apply to any
person in lawful possession of a license that was sold by the department
without tags for red drum or spotted seatrout. A properly executed
wildlife resource document must accompany any red drum or spotted
seatrout in excess of maximum size limits established in this chapter
for those species until the provisions of this title and Parks and
Wildlife Code governing the possession of the particular wildlife
resource cease to apply.
(2) The provisions of this section do not exempt any
person from any provision of this subchapter that requires or prescribes
the use of a wildlife resource document.
(j) Public Drawing for Alligator Gar.
(1) The department may conduct public drawings for
the purpose of providing selected applicants with an opportunity to
harvest an alligator gar greater than 48 inches in length on the segment
of the Trinity River described in §57.981(d)(1)(L)(ii) of this
title (relating to Bag, Possession, and Length Limits).
(2) A drawing under this subsection shall be administered
by means of a random and impartial method.
Cont'd... |
