18 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



fishermen who remain more than 48 hours in such bays and harbors 

 in the exercise of their treaty privileges, that it would not be unrea- 

 sonable to require them " if thought necessary by Great Britain or 

 the Colonial Government, to report either in person or by telegraph 

 at a customhouse or to a customs official if reasonably convenient 

 opportunity therefor is afforded." 



Question 5, which was introduced into the arbitration by Great 

 Britain, deals with the historic contention of the British Government 

 that the renunciation by the United States in the treaty of 1818 of the 

 liberty of fishing on or within 3 miles of any bays on the nontreaty 

 coasts, must be interpreted as excluding American fishermen from 

 fishing in any of the indentations of the coast which miglu properly 

 be defined as bays, regardless of their size. The position of the 

 United States on this question has always been that inasmuch as the 

 language of the treaty is " bays of His Britannic Majesty's Do- 

 minions " the bays referred to were only such bays as were included 

 within the usual 3-mile limit of territorial jurisdiction bordering the 

 coast, and that the right to fish in the larger bays was, therefore, not 

 renounced by the treaty. 



As appears from the opinion, the tribunal determined that the 

 renunciation of the right to fish " on or within 3 marine miles of any 

 bays," etc., must be interpreted as applying only to geographical 

 bays, the tribunal declaring that it is " unable to understand the term 

 bays in the renunciatory clause in other than its geographical sense." 

 The award on this question is as follows: 



In case of bays the three marine miles are to be measured from a 

 straight line drawn across the body of water at the place where it 

 ceases to have the configuration and characteristics of a bay. At all 

 other places the three marine miles are to be measured following the 

 sinuosities of the coast. 



Great Britain's contention did not rest upon the assertion of terri- 

 torial jurisdiction over such bays, and the award does not go to the 

 extent of holding that Great Britain has territorial jurisdiction over 

 the large bays, although the United States has renounced for its fish- 

 ermen the right to fish therein. 



The award, therefore, still leaves American fishermen in such bays, 

 subject to American and not British law, and confers upon Great 

 Britain or the British colonies no right to seize or interfere with 

 American fishing vessels beyond the 3-mile limit from shore in such 

 bays, such vessels being in a similar situation to British vessels vio- 

 lating their obligation under the fur-seal award, which excludes them 

 from fishing in certain portions of the high seas. 



The award of the tribunal on this question does not define what is 

 a bay, holding merely that the 3-mile limit of exclusion must be 

 measured from a " line drawn across the body of water at the place 



