Title PW, Parks and Wildlife Code

Sec. 76.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Barrel of oysters" means three boxes of oysters in the shell or two gallons of shucked oysters without shells. The dimensions of a box are 10 inches by 20 inches by 13-1/2 inches. In filling a box for measurement, the oysters may no…

Sec. 76.002. DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BEDS. (a) All natural oyster beds are public. (b) All oyster beds not designated as private are public. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 76.003. BEDS SUBJECT TO LOCATION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) and Section 76.004, an oyster bed or reef, other than a natural oyster bed, is subject to location by the department. (b) The department may subject a natural oyster bed to location if the department …

Sec. 76.004. RIPARIAN RIGHTS. (a) The lawful occupant of a grant of land in this state has the exclusive right to use any creek, bayou, lake, or cove included within the metes and bounds of the original grant for the planting or sowing of oysters. (b) If the creek, bayou, lake, o…

Sec. 76.005. AFFIDAVIT OF RIPARIAN RIGHTS. (a) The department may require the owner of riparian rights described in Section 76.004 of this code when offering oysters for sale to make an affidavit stating that the oysters were produced on his property. (b) The failure of an owner …

Sec. 76.006. APPLICATION FOR LOCATION; FEE. (a) Any citizen of the United States or any domestic corporation may file a written application with the department for a certificate authorizing the applicant to plant oysters and make a private oyster bed in the public water of the st…

Sec. 76.007. MAXIMUM ACREAGE UNDER LOCATION. (a) The department may not issue a certificate of location for a location that includes more than 100 acres of land covered by water. (b) A person may not own, lease, or control more than 300 acres of land covered by water under certif…

Sec. 76.008. LEASE OR CONTROL BY FOREIGN CORPORATION PROHIBITED. No corporation other than those incorporated under the laws of this state may lease or control land under a certificate of location. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 76.009. EXAMINATION AND SURVEY OF LOCATION. (a) On receipt of an application for a location, the department shall examine the proposed location as soon as practicable by any efficient means. (b) If the location is subject to certification, the department shall have the locat…

Sec. 76.012. LOCATOR'S CERTIFICATE. (a) The department shall issue to each locator a certificate signed and sealed by the director. (b) The certificate must contain: (1) the date of the application; (2) the date of the survey; and (3) a description of the location by metes and bo…

Sec. 76.015. RIGHTS OF LOCATOR. (a) The holder of a certificate of location as provided for in Section 76.012 of this code is protected in his possession of the location against trespass in the same manner as are freeholders. (b) This section applies only as long as the stakes or…

Sec. 76.017. LOCATION RENTAL FEES. (a) The holder of a certificate of location shall pay to the department $6 per acre of location per year to rent the location under the certificate. In lieu of that payment, the commission may set the required payment under this section in a gre…

Sec. 76.018. LOCATION RENTAL TERM; RENEWAL; AUCTION. (a) The term of a rental lease for a location under this subchapter is 15 years. (b) The commission shall determine renewal procedures to follow at the end of each lease term. The procedures must include: (1) a determination th…

Sec. 76.019. PROCEDURES FOR SALE OR TRANSFER OF LOCATION RENTAL. The commission shall determine procedures for reissuance of a lease when the lease is sold or otherwise transferred. The procedures must include: (1) payment of a $200 fee due on the sale or transfer of the lease un…

Sec. 76.020. OYSTER SHELL RECOVERY AND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM. (a) The commission by proclamation may establish and conduct a program to require the recovery of oyster shell or other suitable cultch material from, and replacement of oyster shell in, the coastal waters of the state t…

Sec. 76.0205. SUSTAINABILITY OF OYSTER INDUSTRY. (a) In order to enhance the viability of commercial oyster fishing and ensure the sustainability of the oyster industry to accommodate the highest number of commercial oyster fishing boats, a person who purchases oysters under Sect…

Sec. 76.021. OYSTER SHELL RECOVERY AND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM ACCOUNT; FEE. (a) The oyster shell recovery and replacement program account is a separate account in the game, fish, and water safety account. The account consists of money deposited to the account under this section. The…

Sec. 76.022. CERTIFICATES OF LOCATION FOR RESTORATION PURPOSES. (a) The commission by rule shall establish a program to issue certificates of location for the restoration of natural oyster beds. (b) Sections 76.006, 76.007, 76.017, 76.018, and 76.019 do not apply to a program est…

Sec. 76.031. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT. (a) A person desiring to plant oysters on his own location or to take oysters from oyster reefs and public water shall apply to the department for an oyster permit. (b) Only those persons who are citizens of Texas or corporations composed of A…

Sec. 76.032. DISCRETION TO ISSUE PERMIT. The department may issue or refuse to issue a permit to any applicant. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 76.033. CONDITIONS OF PERMIT. (a) The department shall require the permittee to take only the oysters authorized in the permit from beds or reefs designated in the permit. (b) The department shall: (1) mark off the exact area of beds or reefs from which oysters may be taken;…

Sec. 76.035. OYSTERS PROPERTY OF PERMITTEE. All oysters taken or deposited in public water by the holder of an oyster permit under the terms of a permit are the personal property of the permit holder. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 76.036. MARKING BEDS. (a) The holder of a permit shall clearly and distinctly mark by buoys or other permanent markers easily visible above the surface of the water the boundaries of the areas designated in the permit from which he may take or in which he may deposit oysters…

Sec. 76.037. THEFT OF OYSTERS FROM PRIVATE BED. No person may fraudulently take oysters placed on private beds without the consent of the owner of the private bed or from beds or deposits made for the purpose of preparing oysters for market without the consent of the owner of the…

Sec. 76.038. INTERFERENCE WITH BUOYS OR MARKERS. (a) No person may deface, injure, destroy, or remove a buoy, marker, or fence used to designate or enclose a private oyster bed or location where oysters have been deposited for preparation for market without the consent of the own…

Sec. 76.039. PROHIBITED SALES. (a) No person gathering oysters for planting or for depositing for market preparation on locations or on private oyster beds may sell, market, or dispose of the oysters gathered, at the time they are gathered, for any other purpose than planting or …

Sec. 76.040. PENALTIES. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a person who violates a provision of this subchapter or a regulation adopted by the commission under this subchapter commits an offense that is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor. (b) A person wh…

Sec. 76.101. OYSTER LICENSES REQUIRED. (a) No person may take or attempt to take oysters from the public water of this state for noncommercial use by the use of a dredge or tongs without first having acquired a sport oyster boat license from the department. (b) No person may take…

Sec. 76.102. LICENSE APPLICATION. (a) An applicant for an oyster boat license, which is not a renewal of the previous year's license, issued under this subchapter must submit to the department the boat's United States Coast Guard certificate of documentation or Texas' or other st…

Sec. 76.103. TYPES OF LICENSES; PERIOD OF VALIDITY. A commercial oyster boat license, commercial oyster boat captain's license, sport oyster boat license, or commercial oyster fisherman's license expires on August 31 of the yearly period for which it is issued or another date set…

Sec. 76.1031. LICENSE EXPIRATIONS AND TRANSFERS. (a) All licenses issued under the authority of Chapter 76 of this code are valid only during the yearly period for which they are issued without regard to the date on which the licenses are acquired. Each yearly period begins on Se…

Sec. 76.104. LICENSE FEES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, the fee for a commercial oyster boat license is $350 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section, the fee for a sport oy…

Sec. 76.1041. LICENSE DISPLAY AND DESIGN. (a) A commercial oyster boat license issued under this subchapter must be prominently displayed on the bow, outside the wheelhouse, or at another point outside the boat designated by the department, and on each side of the boat, evidencin…

Sec. 76.107. SALE OF SPORT OYSTERS PROHIBITED. No person may sell oysters taken under the authority of a sport oyster boat license. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 8, eff. July 31, 1989; Acts 1993,…

Sec. 76.109. NIGHT DREDGING PROHIBITED. During the open season, no person may take oysters from public water during the period between sunset and sunrise. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 76.112. OYSTER SIZE LIMITS. (a) Repealed by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1256, Sec. 130, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. (b) A cargo of undersized oysters shall be determined by taking at random five percent of the total cargo of oysters as a sample, of which not more than five percent may…

Sec. 76.114. EXCEPTION TO SIZE AND RETENTION LIMITS. (a) The commission by permit may allow the use of one or more dredges of any size and cargoes in excess of 50 barrels in transplanting to or harvesting from private leases. (b) The commission by permit may allow the taking and …

Sec. 76.115. CLOSING AREAS. (a) The commission may close an area to the taking of oysters when the commission finds that the area is being overworked or damaged or the area is to be reseeded or restocked. (b) The commission may open closed areas when appropriate. (c) Before closi…

Sec. 76.116. OYSTERS FROM RESTRICTED AREAS. (a) There is no open season for taking oysters from areas closed by the Department of State Health Services. (b) The department may authorize by permit the transplanting of oysters from restricted areas or other areas designated by the …

Sec. 76.117. OBEDIENCE TO ORDERS. No person may fail or refuse to obey a lawful order of a commissioned game warden of the department issued under the authority of this chapter. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., …

Sec. 76.118. PENALTIES. (a) Except as provided in Subsections (b), (c), (e-2), and (e-3), a person who violates a provision of this subchapter or a regulation of the commission issued under this subchapter commits an offense that is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor. …

Sec. 76.1181. SUSPENSION OF LICENSE. (a) For purposes of this section, "final conviction" includes a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to or the imposition of deferred adjudication for an offense. (b) On final conviction for an offense punishable under Section 76.118(e-3) or (e-4…

Sec. 76.119. RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIOLATION. (a) If a vessel licensed as a commercial oyster boat is involved in a violation of this chapter, the captain of the vessel licensed as a commercial oyster boat is primarily responsible for the violation. A member of the crew of a vessel …

Sec. 76.301. REGULATION OF TAKING, POSSESSION, PURCHASE, AND SALE OF OYSTERS. (a) The commission by proclamation may regulate the taking, possession, purchase, and sale of oysters. A proclamation issued under this section must contain findings by the commission that support the n…

Sec. 76.302. RESEARCH PROGRAM. (a) The department shall conduct continuous research and study of: (1) the supply, economic value, environment, and reproductive characteristics of the various economically important species of oysters; (2) factors affecting the increase or decrease…

Sec. 76.303. SALE OF RAW OYSTERS FOR CONSUMPTION WITHIN THIS STATE. Any federal regulations that prohibit the interstate transport and sale of oysters that have not been postharvest treated do not apply to oysters harvested from waters of this state and sold and consumed in this …