Clement v. Watson

Citations

• 63 Fla. 109

Syllabus

<p>1. While the navigable waters in the State ancl the lands under such waters including the shore or space between high and low water marks, are held by the State for the purpose of navigation and other public uses, subject to lawful governmental regulation, yet this rule is applicable only to such waters as by reason of tbeir size, depth and other conditions are in fact capable of navigation for useful public purposes.</p> <p>2. Waters are not under our law regarded as navigable merely because they are affected by the tides.</p> <p>3. The shore of navigable waters which the sovereign holds for public uses is the land that borders on navigable waters and lies between ordinary high and ordinary low water mark. This does not include lands that do not immediately border on the navigable waters, and that are covered by water not capable of navigation for useful public purposes, such as mud flats, shallow inlets, and low lands covered more or less by water permanently or at intervals, where the waters thereon are not in their ordinary state useful for public navigation.</p> <p>4. Lands not covered by navigable waters and not included in the shore space between ordinary high and low water marks immediately bordering on navigable waters, are the subjects of private ownership, at least when the public rights of navigation, etc., are not thereby unlawfully impaired.</p> <p>5. Where an individual owns the land covered by a small nonnavigabíe cove that is affected by the tide, the owner may make a portion of the cove navigable for his own private purposes without losing his fishing rights in the waters over his land in the cove.</p>