Case Information
*1 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 0raCUBtoma weter8andthatonlyaCoentgmrdmm om0arham3alawfux~tto bmmltbelr boats, amlt&atspeolfimllyaTexasQaaw,WaM~hasn0
jurltallotlon aor eirthorify cwerthaa.'
"Ihellweth~tthla mattershwldbe brought to o tthcmdown inmodlataly.
"!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 taattors should 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 -53 etmpnles are sendJsg their sbl8tping boats into the W&WE *3 EOR. w. k soya, Fe&8 21 the(hiLfof~co,olttlafe4leasthanonele~ dl8tant
innathe~~,andtbsnt~~r~~by~instrarla, wfthout first having paid the llaenas fees prestw;cbed by Artfole 93&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.8 are eonten~ that the State of Texas has no jurliudlotlon wer their flehtag orshr&&.ng aatlritles anywhere lntheGuI.f ofNexle0.
In our opinion 8uoh a 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,
Thst pal-t Of the Aat, Wfth PohiOh W al'8 here tmm&ul, r&&8 as follow:
"That from and efter the a888ge of thls 80t, 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, str0am of saidrfmr to ita 8ouraa . ..- (1 Omeml*s xawa ll93)
In the Qaaee Of 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- slon to say:
*This claira of 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 have seen In the cam of the Brltlsh was and Danish sound, ~eatouLfiwofEat5.one,lS2-158;l Kmt. coal. 29.R
#2mn the Republic of T~%w b%Oati?9 by emmtiOn one, or the states or the ublon, it, a& a State, did not rellnqtiah but retained "all the raoaat and lmapproprleted landtr kyk43 wlthlil its 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 right to the $lrlsK%t2oR over the Sal lwlud- edinthel.isdtr3orthelateRwublloai *5 "whatever soil below~lcrr-ratermarkis the __ .-
subjeot of erolwlte property and ownerahlp, beZang~totheStateon~o6emaritime border and althin whose territory it llw, oubjeet to any lawful grants of that. aoil by the State, or the soveW.$n povmrwhiahgovexmil ita terrltxwy, . the declaration 0r Indepexulenoe.w
beron, In referrlngto the above quotation, the oourt in Xanohesterv. %laasnohusetts, supra, made this oomeut:
*But this soil l8'heltl bythe 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, foreign and $.II?.uI?. f .
Theoourt~have never held, Insofar aswehavebeen able to asoertain, that the regtitatlon of the flaheries dthln the territorial limits of a State was a regulation of -0.
In ?.knoheeter V. &ssachusetts, eupra, it was al.60 8afdr
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.itM States. We knaw of uo suoh attempted psa;&Latlon of fisheries appli,aable to suqh w&?#rpl Of 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 axid the 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. ah 8 fish and game are the property of the state, and she not only ha8 the powqto regulate and control thc~taldngo??lsh anti killing; 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 gante or 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 Juriedlcrtlon OS ths stats over its flsherfecto *thre6 miles from the mast fFo!n the 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 *7 of the State over it8
&teat o? the territorial ~urlediotion ooaetal waters.
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~~lte tidal waters is sotid law, abuudantly supported by both State and Federal authorities. Smith Y. Marylsnd,~lEl Boxri 71, 74; EoCreadyv. Vlrglala, 94 0. 8, 391; mnoheeter Y. Idaeeaahusette, 199 U. S. 240; Lawt0a v. Steele, 162 IT. S. 133; Loulelans v. 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.?e generally, laolubingaotonly ilehaethatwordls oonmmly understood, but including oysters, elms, ehrlmp, erabe, terraplns,turtles, lobeters,aud allother kinds andformot marine life embraoed wlthln the provleloae of 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 letter am amenable thetirshiag conoezae aamod ln?br.Flagg*e 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. *8 W.Boy'd,Fage 8
an.W.
Youre~ v0z-y truly APPROVED JUL i4, 1939
meletant eeloa
Austin,. Teres