Title PW, Parks and Wildlife Code

Sec. 76.404. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION; RULES. (a) The director shall establish administrative procedures to carry out the requirements of this subchapter. (b) The commission shall adopt any rules necessary for the administration of the program established under this subchapter. Add…

Sec. 76.405. LICENSE BUYBACK PROGRAM. (a) The department shall implement a license buyback program for licenses issued under this subchapter as part of the oyster license moratorium program established by this subchapter. (b) The commission by rule shall establish criteria, using…

Sec. 76.406. PREVAILING AUTHORITY. A proclamation of the commission under this subchapter prevails over any conflicting provision of this chapter to the extent of the conflict. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 687 (H.B. 51), Sec. 8, eff. June 1, 2018.

Sec. 77.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Coastal water" means all the salt water of this state, including that portion of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state. (2) "Inside water" means all bays, inlets, outlets, passes, rivers, streams, and other bodies …

Sec. 77.002. LICENSE FEES. (a) License fees provided in this chapter are a privilege tax on catching, buying, selling, unloading, transporting, or handling shrimp within the jurisdiction of this state. (b) The shrimp marketing account is an account in the general revenue fund to …

Sec. 77.003. DISPOSITION OF FUNDS. Money received for licenses issued under this chapter or fines for violations of this chapter shall be remitted to the department by the 10th day of the month following the date of collection. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff.…

Sec. 77.004. 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 shrimp; (2) factors affecting the increase or decrease …

Sec. 77.005. STUDY AND REPORT ON SHRIMP INDUSTRY AND RESOURCES. (a) Using the shrimp management plan required by Section 77.007 and the research conducted under Section 77.004, the department shall comprehensively study shrimp resources, including the shrimp population, and the s…

Sec. 77.007. REGULATION OF CATCHING, POSSESSION, PURCHASE, AND SALE OF SHRIMP. (a) The commission by proclamation may regulate the catching, possession, purchase, and sale of shrimp. A proclamation issued under this section must contain findings by the commission that support the…

Sec. 77.011. LICENSE REQUIREMENT. No person may operate in the coastal water without obtaining the appropriate license, if required, as prescribed in this chapter. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 77.014. METHOD OF TAKING COUNT. (a) An authorized employee of the department shall take the count of shrimp in the presence of the person possessing the shrimp. (b) The employee shall select a minimum of three representative samples for each 1,000 pounds or fraction of 1,000…

Sec. 77.015. GRADATION AND PROCESSING. Shrimp found to be of legal size under this chapter may subsequently be graded for size for packaging, processing, or sale. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 77.0191. RETENTION OF REDFISH, SPECKLED SEA TROUT, AND LIGHTNING WHELKS. (a) No person who is using a trawl for the purpose of taking shrimp may retain a redfish, speckled sea trout, or lightning whelk, also known as Busycon perversum pulleyi, caught in the trawl. (b) No per…

Sec. 77.020. PENALTY. (a) A person who violates a provision of this chapter except Section 77.024 or 77.061(a)(1) or who violates a regulation adopted under this chapter commits an offense that is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor. (b) If it is shown at the trial of t…

Sec. 77.021. SEPARATE OFFENSE. Each day on which a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.

Sec. 77.022. RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIOLATION. (a) When a vessel is involved in a violation of this chapter, the captain of the vessel shall be considered primarily responsible for the violation. A member of the crew of a vessel shall not be guilty of a violation unless it also be ch…

Sec. 77.024. OPERATION WITHOUT LICENSE. No person whose license has been forfeited may do business without a new license or possess another license for the period of forfeiture. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., c…

Sec. 77.025. PERIOD OF LIMITATION. Except as provided in Article 12.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965, as amended, an indictment or information for a violation of this chapter may be presented within one year after the date of the commission of the offense and not afterward. A…

Sec. 77.031. COMMERCIAL BAY SHRIMP BOAT LICENSE. (a) No person may operate a commercial bay shrimp boat for the purpose of catching or assisting in catching shrimp and other edible aquatic products from the inside water unless the owner has obtained a commercial bay shrimp boat l…

Sec. 77.033. COMMERCIAL BAIT-SHRIMP BOAT LICENSE. (a) No person may operate a commercial bait-shrimp boat for the purpose of catching or assisting in catching shrimp for use as bait only and other edible aquatic products from the inside water unless the owner of the boat has obta…

Sec. 77.034. COMMERCIAL GULF SHRIMP UNLOADING LICENSE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), no person may unload or allow to be unloaded at a port or point in this state shrimp or other aquatic products caught or taken from the outside water or from salt water outside the st…

Sec. 77.035. COMMERCIAL GULF SHRIMP BOAT LICENSE. (a) Except as permitted under Section 77.034, no person may operate a commercial gulf shrimp boat for catching or assisting in catching shrimp and other edible aquatic products from the outside water, or have on board a boat, or u…

Sec. 77.0351. COMMERCIAL SHRIMP BOAT CAPTAIN'S LICENSE. (a) No captain of a licensed commercial shrimp boat may operate a licensed commercial shrimp boat while catching or attempting to catch shrimp from the public water of this state or unloading or attempting to unload in this …

Sec. 77.0352. SALE OF CATCH. (a) The holder of a commercial shrimp boat license or commercial gulf shrimp unloading license may sell only the catch of shrimp from the vessel to which the commercial shrimp boat license or commercial gulf shrimp unloading license applies. (b) The h…

Sec. 77.036. OFFICIAL REGISTRATION. (a) An applicant for a commercial shrimp 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 the Te…

Sec. 77.0361. LICENSE EXPIRATIONS AND TRANSFERS. (a) All licenses issued under the authority of Chapter 77 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. 77.037. TRANSFER OF LICENSE. A commercial gulf shrimp boat license issued under this subchapter may be transferred on the application of the licensee from a boat that has been destroyed or lost to a boat acquired by the licensee as a replacement. The commission, by regulatio…

Sec. 77.039. LICENSE DESIGN. (a) A commercial shrimp boat license or commercial gulf shrimp unloading license issued under this subchapter must be a sign or emblem at least 32 square inches in size and be constructed of a durable material. (b) The character and design of each cla…

Sec. 77.040. OTHER LICENSES REQUIRED. (a) A person holding a commercial shrimp boat license under this subchapter is not required to obtain a commercial fishing boat license under Section 47.007 of this code. (b) The captain of a commercial shrimp boat who holds a commercial shri…

Sec. 77.043. BAIT-SHRIMP DEALER LICENSE. (a) No person may engage in business as a bait-shrimp dealer unless he has obtained a bait-shrimp dealer's license from the department for each bait stand or place of business he maintains. (b) The fee for a bait-shrimp dealer's license is…

Sec. 77.044. ISSUANCE OF BAIT-SHRIMP DEALER'S LICENSE. (a) The department shall issue a bait-shrimp dealer's license only after it has determined that the applicant for the license is a bona fide bait-shrimp dealer. (b) A bait-shrimp dealer's license may not be held by a person w…

Sec. 77.045. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF BAIT-SHRIMP DEALER. (a) The holder of a bait-shrimp dealer's license may sell, purchase, and handle shrimp, minnows, fish, and other forms of aquatic life for sale or resale for fish bait purposes in the coastal counties of this state. (b) The ho…

Sec. 77.046. EXEMPTIONS FROM BAIT-SHRIMP DEALER'S LICENSE. A bait-shrimp dealer's license is not required for: (1) grocery stores in coastal counties which do not unload or purchase shrimp directly from commercial bait-shrimp boats; (2) bait dealers in coastal counties who do not…

Sec. 77.048. INDIVIDUAL BAIT-SHRIMP TRAWL LICENSE. (a) No person may possess or have on board a boat in coastal water an individual bait-shrimp trawl unless the owner of the trawl has obtained an individual bait-shrimp trawl license from the department. (b) The fee for the indivi…

Sec. 77.061. GENERAL CLOSED SEASON. (a) Except as specifically provided in this subchapter, no person may catch shrimp in outside water: (1) from June 1 to July 15, both dates inclusive, or during a period provided under Section 77.062 of this code, as applicable; or (2) extendin…

Sec. 77.062. CHANGE IN GENERAL CLOSED SEASON. Based on sound biological data, the commission may change the opening and closing dates of the June 1 to July 15 closed season to provide for an earlier, later, or longer season not to exceed 60 days. The commission may change the clo…

Sec. 77.063. GENERAL LIMITATION ON NETS. (a) Repealed by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1256, Sec. 130, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. (b) When restrictions are imposed on either or both the size and number of main trawls, no person may use a try net in outside water exceeding 21 feet in width a…

Sec. 77.071. REGULATIONS IN CONTIGUOUS ZONE. (a) Repealed by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 217, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. (b) The department may negotiate reciprocal agreements with another state with respect to the application of one state's shrimping regulations in its contiguous…

Sec. 77.072. SHRIMP SIZE EXCEPTION. Minimum size restrictions as provided in Chapter 77, Parks and Wildlife Code, as amended, do not apply to shrimp taken from outside waters when: (1) the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery …

Sec. 77.111. SHRIMP LICENSE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. For the purposes of promoting efficiency and economic stability in the shrimping industry and of conserving economically important shrimp resources, the department shall implement a shrimp license management program in accordance wi…

Sec. 77.112. ISSUANCE AND RENEWAL OF COMMERCIAL BAY AND BAIT SHRIMP BOAT LICENSES. (a) After August 31, 1995, the department may not issue a new commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license unless the person seeking to obtain the license documents to the satisfaction of the departm…

Sec. 77.113. LICENSE TRANSFER. (a) Except as provided by this section, a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license may not be transferred from one person to another before September 1, 1999. (b) A commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license may be transferred at any time, by sale…

Sec. 77.114. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF LICENSES HELD; DESIGNATED LICENSE HOLDER. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), no person may hold or directly or indirectly control more than four commercial bay and four commercial bait shrimp boat licenses. (b) A person who qualifies to rene…

Sec. 77.115. TRANSFER FEE. The commission may set a fee for the transfer of a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license. The amount of the transfer fee may not exceed the amount of the license fee for the license being transferred. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 339, Sec. 1,…

Sec. 77.116. LENGTH AND ENGINE LIMITS; VESSEL UPGRADE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a vessel licensed as a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat may not: (1) have an engine that is rated by the manufacturer of the engine at more than 400 horsepower; or (2) exceed 60 fee…

Sec. 77.117. LICENSE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION. (a) The executive director, after notice and the opportunity for a hearing, may suspend a commercial bay or bait shrimp boat license if the license holder or any other operator of the licensed vessel is convicted of one or more flag…