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As we all know, a valid recreational fishing license is required to catch fish even to put in your aquarium or pond. Fish also must be caught using approved methods, and size and bag limits still apply, meaning it's illegal to keep an undersized gamefish, or a gamefish you didn't catch on a hook with a rod.
But a different question I have seen asked is whether it is legal to resell fish you have caught or their offspring. I have even see people say that since native fish like sailfin mollies and golden topminnows could qualify as "bait fish", it would be illegal to sell them or their offspring without a Bait Dealer License. I could be wrong, but I don't believe this interpretation of the law is correct.
Section 47.001 of the Parks and Wildlife Code defines a Bait Dealer as “a person who catches and sells minnows, fish, shrimp, or other aquatic products for bait or a place of business where minnows, fish, shrimp, or other aquatic products are sold, offered for sale, handled, or transported for sale for bait,” and someone selling these fish would be selling them as ornamental fish, not bait, they would not meet the statutory definition for requirements for bait dealers to apply. These sales would not even meet the statutory definition of Retail Fish Dealer if you’re only occasionally selling a few out of your home to acquaintances, you’re not “operat[ing] a place of business for selling or offering for sale to a consumer aquatic products […] and that are subject to the limited sales or use tax,” this kind of sale would qualify as “occasional sales” under Section 151.304 of Title 2, Texas Tax Code, and thus be exempt from the requirement to collect sales tax. Thus it should be perfectly legal for someone with a recreational fishing license to catch these nongame fish and occasionally sell them, without any other license or permit required.
That's my interpretation of the law, but curious if others have a different interpretation, or any knowledge of real-world enforcement of these laws.
But a different question I have seen asked is whether it is legal to resell fish you have caught or their offspring. I have even see people say that since native fish like sailfin mollies and golden topminnows could qualify as "bait fish", it would be illegal to sell them or their offspring without a Bait Dealer License. I could be wrong, but I don't believe this interpretation of the law is correct.
Section 47.001 of the Parks and Wildlife Code defines a Bait Dealer as “a person who catches and sells minnows, fish, shrimp, or other aquatic products for bait or a place of business where minnows, fish, shrimp, or other aquatic products are sold, offered for sale, handled, or transported for sale for bait,” and someone selling these fish would be selling them as ornamental fish, not bait, they would not meet the statutory definition for requirements for bait dealers to apply. These sales would not even meet the statutory definition of Retail Fish Dealer if you’re only occasionally selling a few out of your home to acquaintances, you’re not “operat[ing] a place of business for selling or offering for sale to a consumer aquatic products […] and that are subject to the limited sales or use tax,” this kind of sale would qualify as “occasional sales” under Section 151.304 of Title 2, Texas Tax Code, and thus be exempt from the requirement to collect sales tax. Thus it should be perfectly legal for someone with a recreational fishing license to catch these nongame fish and occasionally sell them, without any other license or permit required.
That's my interpretation of the law, but curious if others have a different interpretation, or any knowledge of real-world enforcement of these laws.