Fish Royal
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
A whale, porpoise, or sturgeon thrown ashore on the coast of England belonged to the king as a branch of his prerogative. Hence these fish are termed "royal fish." Hale, de Jur. Mar. pt.
1, c. 7; 1 Sharswood, Bl. Comm. 290; Plowd. 305; Bracton, lib. 3, c. 3.