52 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



Placaet-Boek and other collections of Dutch regula- 

 tions for the years 1597 to 1857 number at least two 

 hundred and fifty-two, but none has for its special 

 object the protection of the whale. The earliest 

 regulation refers to stranded whales, the whaling 

 regulations proper commencing in 1613 with an 

 order prohibiting whalers from engaging in foreign 

 service. 



The territorial waters are usually, though 

 erroneously, considered to extend for three miles 

 from low water mark. Even were they to extend 

 for a considerable distance beyond this it is 

 obvious, since whales frequent the high seas, that 

 national legislation for the protection of whales 

 will be of little effect, and international regulation 

 is necessary. 



Attempts have been made by various nations to 

 prohibit whaling in wide areas of open sea, except 

 to their own subjects ; instances of this are given in 

 the following chapters, both James I. of England 

 and the Count Maurice of Holland asserting such 

 rights to Spitsbergen waters. 



The Danes also interfered in Spitsbergen 

 waters in 1615, 1623, and 1693. I* 1 these earlier 

 assertions of authority no specific limit of sea, 

 assumed to be controlled, is defined. 



The first definition was apparently, in December, 

 1692, when Denmark issued an edict declaring that 

 no one could, without royal authority, carry on 

 whale fishing within ten Norwegian leagues or 

 forty geographical miles of the coast. The 



