(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, no person may catch fish by using an electricity-producing device designed to shock fish.
(b) No person may manufacture or sell an electricity-producing device designed to shock fish.

Terms Used In Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 66.004

  • Catch: means take or kill and includes an attempt to take or kill. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Sell: means to transfer the ownership or the right of possession of an item to a person for consideration and includes a barter and an even exchange. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, no person may possess an electricity-producing device commonly used to shock fish. The possession of an electricity-producing device commonly used to shock fish, in a boat or within one-half mile of any water of this state, is a violation of this section by the person in possession of the device.
(d) This section does not prohibit the use of an electricity-producing device of not more than three volts connected to a shrimp trawl used by an operator of a licensed commercial gulf shrimp boat in the outside water of this state at depths of more than seven fathoms. To qualify under this exemption, the commercial gulf shrimp boat and the trawl must be operating in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 77 of this code relating to the taking of shrimp.
(e) An electricity-producing device used or possessed in violation of this section is a nuisance, and an officer of the department who has probable cause to believe that a device is used or possessed in violation of this section may search a boat, vehicle, campsite, or person and seize the device and hold it as evidence for the trial of the person in possession of the device. If the person is found guilty of a violation of this section, the department shall be responsible for the destruction of the device unless it can be utilized by the department for research purposes, or upon request the device may be released to a state-supported college or university for use in marine or aquatic research. An officer of the department who seizes or destroys a device is immune from liability for any damages resulting from seizure or destruction, and the department is likewise immune from liability for any damages resulting from seizure, destruction, or disposition thereof.
(f) For purposes of this section, an “electricity-producing device” includes any device that produces or directs an electrical current and is used to shock, stun, disorient, or kill fish.
(g), (h) Repealed by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 267, art. 3, Sec. 110, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.

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