It shall be unlawful for any person to fish in the waters or from upon the lands of another without first having obtained permission from the landowner or person in charge of such lands, provided that nothing contained in this Code section shall be construed to apply to the fishing or taking of fish, other than oysters, clams, and other shellfish, in any of the salt-water creeks, streams, or estuaries leading from the Atlantic Ocean or from the sounds, rivers, or bays surrounding the several islands of this state. It shall also be unlawful for any person to obstruct or interfere with the right of any other person to fish in these salt-water creeks, streams, or estuaries leading from the Atlantic Ocean or from the sounds, rivers, or bays surrounding the several islands of this state. Game wardens, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and all other peace officers of this state or of any county or municipality thereof shall enforce this Code section.
(Ga. L. 1911, p. 137, § 7; Code 1933, § 45-513; Ga. L. 1955, p. 483, § 81; Ga. L. 1972, p. 200, § 2; Code 1933, § 45-701, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 808, § 7/SB 72.)
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted "Game wardens" for "Conservation rangers" at the beginning of the last sentence.
Cross references.- Criminal trespass generally, § 16-7-21.
Limitation of liability of owners of property used for recreational purposes, § 51-3-20 et seq.
Law reviews.- For article, "Public Rights in Georgia's Tidelands," see 9 Ga. L. Rev. 79 (1974).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Owner of both sides of nonnavigable stream.
- Owner of nonnavigable stream who owns the land on both sides of stream is entitled to exclusive fishing rights in that stream. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 249.
Owner of land adjacent to navigable stream owns to low-water mark of stream, and may prevent fishing from upon owner's lands and could well have exclusive fishing rights to low-water mark thereof. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 249.
Where a river is navigable at point where a lake comes into the river, and the same person owns the land on both sides of the lake and the land on both sides of the mouth of the lake, the owner would have the exclusive fishing rights to the low-water mark of a navigable stream; and the lake and the lands could be posted by the owner notwithstanding fact that the lake and lands might be posted by operation of law. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 249.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 35A Am. Jur. 2d, Fish, Game, and Wildlife Conservation, §§ 14, 23, 25.
C.J.S.- 36A C.J.S., Fish, §§ 5, 6.
ALR.- Right of public to fish in stream notwithstanding objection by riparian owner, 47 A.L.R.2d 381.
Rights of fishing, boating, bathing, or the like in inland lakes, 57 A.L.R.2d 569.