CHAPTER VII 



LEGISLATION AND THE SEA FISHERIES 



IT is only proposed to treat of legislation which has for its 

 object the preservation of the continuity of the supply of 

 fish, and consequently regulations of a police nature dealing 

 with such subjects as the sale or barter of intoxicants to fishermen 

 on the high seas, or regulations to prevent breaches of the peace 

 or damage to fishing gear between different classes of fishermen 

 fishing in close proximity are omitted. 



The subject of legislation for the protection of fish and the develop- 

 ment of the fisheries, since the former if rationally secured involves 

 the latter, is one which bristles with difficulties. Fish are for the 

 most part captured on the high seas, beyond the small and not 

 definitely determined limit which bounds the territorial waters ; 

 and consequently legislation, to be effective, must be of an inter- 

 national character. Within this ill-defined territorial limit the 

 subjects of a given state have the exclusive right of fishing, and 

 national legislation is, or should be, effective within this area. 

 Unfortunately, the ratio between the territorial waters and those 

 which may be called extra-territorial is a very small one ; and, 

 though restrictive legislation in the territorial area should be 

 effective in securing the prosperity of the fisheries in the inshore 

 waters, it is to be feared that, compared with the immense destruc- 

 tion caused by modern methods of steam fishing and particularly 

 by steam trawling, purely national legislation will have little effect 

 on the future of the fisheries. 



Since fishery legislation falls naturally into either national or 

 international categories, it is advisable to consider as far as possible 

 each separately, and also exactly what area comprises the territorial 

 waters within which the subjects of any given State have the 

 exclusive right of fishing. 



The term " territorial waters " is commonly applied to waters 

 within a " 3-mile limit " from the shore. That the latter term is 

 erroneous, a very little study of the subject will prove. The history 

 of the evolution of the idea of territorial waters and the modern 

 practice of most civilised nations concerned with fishery rights 



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