31 Tex. Admin. Code § 57.972 - General Rules
(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.
(3) Drawings under this
subsection are restricted to persons holding a recreational fishing license
valid for fishing in fresh water. A person who holds only a one-day special
license, a Lake Texoma license, a saltwater license, or license issued in
another state and valid in Texas is not eligible to participate in a drawing
under this section.
(4) An
applicant may be selected for a harvest opportunity under this subsection only
once between September 1 of one year and August 31 of the following year. A
harvest opportunity under this subsection is valid only for the license year in
which the drawing was conducted.
(5) Harvest under this subsection may take
place at any time using any legal fishing device. An alligator gar taken under
this subsection must be reported within 24 hours of harvest via the
department's website or mobile application.
(6) Opportunity under this subsection is not
transferrable; only persons selected by a drawing under this subsection are
authorized to harvest an alligator gar under this subsection.
(7) Drawings held under this subsection shall
be subject to determinations made by the department to ensure the
sustainability of the alligator gar fishery.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.