THE INADEQUACY OF THE THREE-MILE LIMIT 735 



territorial sea, but of special regulations independent of it, and 

 exclusively relating to the fisheries. 



From what has been said in foregoing pages as to the im- 

 poverishment of the fishing-grounds in the North Sea, and the 

 various remedies that have been at one time or another pro- 

 posed by the English trawlers and by Parliamentary Com- 

 mittees with the view of maintaining the fish supply, it might 

 appear that a very good case already existed for approach- 

 ing foreign Powers with the object of arranging for general 

 regulations beyond the ordinary limit, and one far weightier 

 than that which brought about the conference at The Hague 

 and the North Sea Convention in 1882 (see p. 631). 



Two probable reasons may be advanced for the delay in 

 giving effect to the recommendations of the various Com- 

 mittees of Parliament. The first is that a very important 

 international investigation of the North Sea and adjacent 

 waters has been in progress for a number of years and is 

 still going on. On the invitation of the Swedish Government, 

 representatives of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, the Nether- 

 lands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway met at Stockholm in 

 June 1899, and again at Christiania in May 1901, to discuss 

 and arrange an organisation and a programme for an inter- 

 national scientific investigation of the North Sea, the Nor- 

 wegian Sea, and the Baltic, in the interests of the fisheries ; 

 and in July 1902, the first meeting of the body so constituted, 

 the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, was 

 held at Copenhagen. Since then all the maritime countries of 

 Western Europe, with the exception of France, have engaged 

 in these researches. 1 This country entered into the arrange- 

 ment with special reference to the fisheries in the North Sea, 

 and with a very practical end in view namely, to secure a 

 careful inquiry into the effect of the methods of fishing in the 

 North Sea, and to promote a scheme for determining whether 



1 Reports of the British Delegates attending the International Conferences held 

 at Stockholm, Christiania, and Copenhagen, with respect to Fishery and Hydro- 

 graphical Investigations in the North Sea. Part. Papers, Cd. 1313, 1903. Cor- 

 responding "Reports" to 1906 (Parl. Papers, Cd. 2966/06, 3033/06, 3165/06). 

 Conseil Permanent International pour 1'Exploration de la Mer, Rapports et Proces- 

 Verbaux des Reunions, Copenhague. A summary on the subject, by Dr A. T. 

 Masterman, will be found in the Minutes of Evidence, Committee on Fishery 

 Investigations (Parl. Papers, Cd. 4304, p. 479, 1908). 



