i62 THE SEA FISHERIES 



Sweden and Norway did not join the Convention, as they objected 

 to the definition of the territorial waters. 



A most important departure from the definition of the previous 

 Conventions is the inclusion of the " dependent islands and banks." 



The Convention of 1901 between Great Britain and Denmark 

 refers to the islands of Iceland and Faroe. For some years previously 

 British trawlers had been in the habit of fishing in these waters, 

 and the islanders, whose living to a great extent depends on the 

 prosperity of the fisheries, were naturally anxious to keep these 

 foreign trawlers at a respectable distance from the coast. The 

 Convention contains a definition of the territorial waters within a 

 certain area which includes Iceland and the Faroes. " The subjects 

 of His Majesty the King of Denmark shall enjoy the exclusive 

 right of fishing within the distance of 3 miles from low-water mark, 

 along the whole extent of the coasts of the said islands, as well as 

 of the dependent islets, rocks and banks. As regards bays, the 

 distance of 3 miles shall be measured from a straight line drawn 

 across the bay, in the part nearest the entrance, at the first point 

 where the width does not exceed 10 miles." Islets and rocks are 

 now included, an important difference, at any rate potentially. 



The idea of a 3-mile limit probably arose in the first instance 

 from its being the extreme range of effective protection from the 

 shore, i.e. the extreme range of cannon shot . ^ It seems to have been 

 adopted as the general limit for fishery purposes by most of the 

 northern European nations, as a matter of compromise and ex- 

 pediency, not because it is the ideal for fishery purposes. As will 

 be noticed from the preceding account of the North Sea fishing 

 grounds, such a definition affords no reasonable measure of pro- 

 tection to the flat-fish of that area. 



In many instances fisheries for sedentary creatures such as oysters 

 or sponges are prosecuted on banks which extend beyond the limit 

 of 3 miles from low-water mark of the coasts. In these cases special 

 legislation is often effected. 



Omitting special cases, such as banks of oysters, the sponge 

 fisheries and fur seals, where the 3-mile limit is admittedly in- 

 adequate for protective purposes, it can hardly be maintamed that 

 for general fishing purposes such a limit is the best suited to preserve 

 the fisheries as a whole, and to keep the balance between the 

 different classes of fishermen. Steam fishing, has undoubtedly 

 been productive of much good. The organisation of the means of 

 capture, and the placing of the catch on the markets m a rapid and 

 efiicient manner by the use of steam has largely developed tne 

 consumption of fish in our great industrial centres. 



1 For full details see Wemyss Fulton, op. cit. 



