THE FISHERY CONVENTIONS 647 



ings at the conference at The Hague in 1881 shows that it 

 would not have been a difficult matter to clear up some of the 

 obscurity that exists. One point of importance is that, not- 

 withstanding the absence of any treaty or agreement defining 

 the extent of the limits of exclusive fishery with certain nations, 

 the three-mile limit alone has been enforced against the vessels 

 of such nations fishing on our coasts. This has been the case, 

 except for a brief period, with respect to Norwegian and 

 Swedish trawlers in the Moray Firth in Scotland, which is 

 "closed" to British trawlers, and the vessels of these two 

 nations are thus put on the same footing as those of other 

 countries with which a convention has been made. It is also 

 the case on the west coast of Scotland, where the limit of three 

 miles is enforced against foreign trawlers, apparently irre- 

 spective of nationality, and certainly against Dutch and 

 German vessels as well as against Belgians in the Clyde, from 

 which British trawlers are excluded. 1 How far this undoubted 

 usage may modify the position under international law it 

 would be of importance to determine. 



A more recent convention must be referred to, which, how- 

 ever, does not relate to the coasts of this country, but to those 

 of the Danish islands, the Faroes, and Iceland, where British 

 trawling vessels carry on extensive operations. The Icelanders, 

 who depend so much upon their fisheries, were desirous of 

 having a considerable extent of the waters around their coasts 

 reserved to themselves, and wished to have a limit of seven 

 miles to protect the grounds from the action of foreign fishing- 

 boats. 2 As a result of negotiations, however, with Great 

 Britain, Denmark agreed to the usual limit of three miles. 

 The treaty was signed at London on 24th June 1901, and after 



1 19th, 22nd, and 23rd Reports Fishery Board for Scotland, Part I. Correspond- 

 ing particulars are not given in the English or Irish fishery reports. 



2 The preceding laws, however, left the territorial limits indefinite, under the 

 law of nations, or subject to any special international agreement, as that of 12th 

 February 1872, concerning foreign fishermen at Iceland. ("1. Drive fremmede 

 Nationers Fiskere nogetsomhelst Fiskeri under Islands Kyster indenfor Sj>terri- 

 toriets Grpcnse, saaledes som denne er bestemt ved deu almindelige Folkeret, eller 

 ved srcrlige internationale Overenskomster for Islands Vedkommende maatte blive 

 fastsat, straffes de med Bibder fra 10 til 200 Rd." C. F. Drechsel, Samling of 

 Islandske Love, Forordninger, m.m. galdcnde for Fiskerlct paa Siterritoriet ved 

 Island, 1892.) Later laws, both for the Faroes and Iceland, merely referred to 

 the "territorial sea." 



