THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS 49 



Britain, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, and 

 Holland. Effect was given to this arrangement 

 by the Sea-Fisheries Act of I883, 1 which gave the 

 Crown power to make regulations for the conduct 

 of sea-fishing boats in the North Sea by means of 

 Orders in Council. The matters dealt with in the 

 Act are : 



1 . A renewed statement of the exclusive rights of 

 British fishermen to fish in their territorial waters ; 



2. The maintenance of good order among fisher- 

 men at sea ; 



3. Close times for oyster-fishing ; 



4. The prevention of wilful damage to fishing 

 gear ; and 



5. The lighting and registry of British sea- 

 fishing boats. 



It also provided for legal proceedings, and 

 simplified these to some extent. For the enforce- 

 ment of the Act, certain classes of persons were 

 appointed fisheries officers : these were com- 

 missioned officers of the Navy, Consular and 

 Customs officers, Board of Trade and Coastguard 

 officers. They were given power both with 

 regard to British and foreign boats acting in 

 contravention of the Act, which included board- 

 ing, search, arrest, and detention. All the above, 

 it must be remembered, applied only to boats 

 fishing in the North Sea ; and with respect to 

 French boats fishing in the English Channel, the 



1 46 and 47 Viet. c. 22 (1883). 



4 



