SECTION 58.102. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Aquatic products--Any aquatic life, alive or dead, uncooked, fresh or frozen, which is intended to be used for human consumption or bait.

(2) Accelerator funnel--a device used to accelerate the flow of water through a shrimp trawl.

(3) Bait bays--Bait bays are: major bays, Chocolate Bay, West Bay south and west of Interstate Highway 45 Causeway bridge and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway inclusive of the area south of a line extending westward from the Interstate Highway 45 Causeway bridge at Virginia Point, along the southern edge of Tiki Island to the northeastern tip of North Deer Island at Channel Marker 48, Trinity Bay northward from a line extending from the mouth of Double Bayou in Chambers County to Double Bayou Channel Marker 14, to Separator C-2, to Point Barrow, Chambers County, the Old Brazos River lying north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Brazoria County, Upper Laguna Madre, Baffin Bay, Alazan Bay, Baroom Bay, Lower Laguna Madre including the Brownsville ship channel, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway exclusive of all tributaries.

(4) Bait-shrimp dealer--A person who operates an established place of business in a coastal county of the state for compensation or profit for the purpose of handling shrimp caught for use as bait from the inside water of this state, but does not include a person holding a wholesale fish dealer's license under Parks and Wildlife Code, §47.009.

(5) Beam Trawl--A trawl, without wings, the mouth of which is held open by a rigid beam of wood or metal.

(6) Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD)--a device installed in the cod end (tail bag) of a shrimp trawl for the purpose of excluding finfish from the net.

(7) Centerline--the seam that runs along the top center of the trawl. In the absence of a seam, the centerline runs from the center point of the length of the head rope to the furthest distance on the top of the cod end of the trawl.

(8) Coastal waters--All the salt water of this state (as defined in §65.3 of this title (relating to Definitions)), including that portion of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state extending nine nautical miles from the Gulf shoreline.

(9) Cod end (Tailbag)--the end of a trawl which acts as the receptacle for shrimp and other organisms caught in the net. It is closed and secured, at the extreme end, with a line.

(10) Commercial bait shrimp boat--A boat that is required to be numbered or registered under the laws of the United States or of this state and that is used for the purpose of taking or attempting to take shrimp for use as bait and other aquatic products from the inside water of the state for pay or for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange.

(11) Commercial bay shrimp boat--A boat that is required to be numbered or registered under the laws of the United States or of this state and that is used for the purpose of taking or attempting to take shrimp and other aquatic products from the inside water of the state for pay or for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange.

(12) Commercial gulf shrimp boat--Any boat that is required to be numbered or registered under the laws of the United States or of this state and that is used for the purpose of taking or attempting to take shrimp and other aquatic products from the outside water of the state for pay or for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange, or from salt water outside the state for pay or for the purpose of sale, barter, or exchange, and that unloads at a port or other point in the state without having been previously unloaded in another state or foreign country.

(13) Contiguous zone--That area of the Gulf of Mexico lying adjacent to and offshore of the jurisdiction of the State of Texas and in which shrimp of the Family Penaeidae are found.

(14) Individual bait-shrimp trawl--An otter trawl used for the purpose of catching shrimp for personal use.

(15) Inside waters--All bays, inlets, outlets, passes, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water landward from the shoreline of the state along the Gulf of Mexico and contiguous to, or connected with, but not a part of, the Gulf of Mexico and within which the tide regularly rises and falls and in which saltwater shrimp are found or into which saltwater shrimp migrate.

(16) Major bays--Major bays include the deeper, major bay areas of the inside water, including Sabine Lake north of Cameron Causeway to south of a line marked by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Sabine Neches Canal/Sabine river) between the eastern most tip of Goat Island to the western most tip of Stewts Island, Trinity Bay southward from a line extending from the mouth of Double Bayou in Chambers County to Double Bayou Channel Marker 14, to Separator C-2, to Point Barrow, Chambers County, Galveston Bay, East Bay westward from a line extending from Frozen Point to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Marker 12, Matagorda Bay (westward of a line extending from a location on the mainland (where a line running immediately northwest (bearing 330 degrees) from Shellfish Marker A intersects the mainland) thence southeasterly to Shellfish Marker A located near the mainland, thence to Shellfish Marker B located near the end of Shell Island Reef, thence to the tide gauge located near the Matagorda Peninsula, and thence southeasterly (bearing 153 degrees) to the Matagorda Peninsula. East Matagorda Bay, Tres Palacios Bay south of a line from Grassey Point to the mouth of Pinkerton Bayou, Espiritu Santo Bay, Lavaca Bay southward of State Highway 35, San Antonio Bay southward of a line from McDowell Point to Mosquito Point, Aransas Bay, and Corpus Christi Bay exclusive of the area bounded by a line extending from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at the southwest point of the Dagger Island chain, along Dagger Island to the southeast tip of South Ransom Island, then southeast to the westernmost point of land north of Marker 14 in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, all exclusive of tributary bays, bayous, and inlets, lakes and rivers.

(17) Northern Shrimp Zone--That portion of outside waters north of the Corpus Christi Fish Pass Jetties from a line formed by Latitude 27° 40' 34" to the Texas-Louisiana border.

(18) Nursery areas--Includes tributary bays, bayous, inlets, lakes, and rivers, which are proven to serve as significant growth and development environments for postlarval and juvenile shrimp not including the outside waters, major bays, or bait bays as defined in this section.

(19) Otter Trawl--A funnel-shaped trawl, with wings, the mouth of which is held open by floats and weights and spread by trawl doors fastened to the wings.

(20) Outside waters--All the salt water of the state contiguous to and seaward from the shoreline of the state along the Gulf of Mexico as the shoreline is projected and extended in a continuous and unbroken line, following the contours of the shoreline, across bays, inlets, outlets, passes, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water; and that portion of the Gulf of Mexico extending from the shoreline seaward and within the jurisdiction of the state.

(21) Permanent structure--A building designed, planned, and constructed so as to remain at one location.

(22) Place of business--A permanent structure on the mainland or a barrier island where aquatic products or orders for aquatic products are received, or where aquatic products are sold or purchased, but does not include a vehicle, a boat, or any type of floating device, a public cold storage vault, or the portion of a structure that is used as a residence.

(23) Possess--The act of having in possession or control, keeping, detaining, restraining or holding.

(24) Second offense and third and subsequent offenses--Offenses for which convictions have been obtained within three years prior to the date of the offense charged.

(25) Shrimping--The taking or attempting to take shrimp from the public waters of this state.

(26) Shrimp house operator--A person who operates a shrimp house, plant, or other establishment for compensation or profit for the purpose of unloading and handling, from commercial gulf shrimp boats or commercial bay shrimp boats, fresh shrimp and other edible aquatic products caught or taken from the coastal water of the state or from salt water outside the state and brought into the state without having been previously unloaded in another state or foreign country, but does not include a person holding a wholesale fish dealer's license under Parks and Wildlife Code, §47.009.

(27) Southern Shrimp Zone--That portion of outside waters south of the Corpus Christi Fish Pass Jetties from a line formed by Latitude 27° 40' 34" southward to the Texas-Mexico border.

(28) Tailbag (Cod end)--the end of a trawl which acts as the receptacle for shrimp and other organisms caught in the net. It is closed and secured, at the extreme end, with a line.

(29) Trawl--A beam trawl or otter trawl with a bag-shaped net which is used to catch shrimp.

(30) Turtle Excluder Device (TED)--a device designed to be installed in a shrimp trawl forward of the cod end (tail bag) for the purpose of excluding sea turtles from the net and that meets the dimensions and specifications of an approved device as described in 50 CFR Part 223 §223.207 on August 13, 2012.

Source Note: The provisions of this §58.102 adopted to be effective October 3, 1996, 21 TexReg 9176; amended to be effective October 10, 2000, 25 TexReg 10157; amended to be effective January 2, 2002, 26 TexReg 11004; amended to be effective March 27, 2006, 31 TexReg 2693; amended to be effective July 23, 2015, 40 TexReg 4698