Arnett

Raymond Mattz appeals from a judgment ordering forfeiture under Fish and Game Code section 8630 of five nylon gill nets belonging to him. The nets had been seized by a state game warden at a point on the Smith River within one mile of its confluence with the Klamath River. The seizure occurred on land owned by a lumber company, less than 20 miles from the mouth of the Klamath.

Appellant intervened and resisted the petition for forfeiture, asserting that he was an enrolled Indian fishing on Indian country and that the statutory prohibition against the use of gill nets was therefore inapplicable.

In 1953, Congress consented to the application of California criminal laws to Indians and “Indian country” ( 18 U.S.C. § 1162 ); but the enactment preserved Indian rights to fish or hunt “afforded under Federal treaty, agreement, or statute.” Thus, appellant’s position depends upon a showing (1) that the nets were found on “Indian country” within the meaning of the statute, and (2) that there was “a Federal treaty, agreement, or statute” establishing appellant’s right to fish.

Fish and Game Code section 12300, enacted in response to the federal statute, provides that portions of…