[1183] The Marquis of Lothian, Secretary for Scotland, in introducing the Bill which became the Herring Fishery (Scotland) Act, 1889, said: “With regard to the east coast there is no very great difficulty in fixing the limits of territorial waters, because between Her Majesty’s Government and what I may call the riparian powers of the North Sea there is a Fisheries Convention; but on the west coast there is no such convention, and therefore it has been thought desirable to attach a schedule to this Bill in order to show exactly what are the waters closed against trawlers apart altogether from the general international rule as to the three-mile limit.” June 28th, 1889. Hansard, vol. 337, p. 975.
[1184] 46 & 47 Vict., c. 22, s. 28.
[1185] 6 & 7 Vict., c. 79 (1843). The international regulations agreed upon in virtue of the eleventh article of the convention were to apply to “the seas lying between the coasts of Great Britain and of France”; and differences of interpretation arose in this country as to the extent of the seas coming under this denomination—e.g., whether those on the west coast of Scotland were included. The power given to the crown to suspend the operation of the Act on the Irish coasts, and the obvious intention of the Act and articles, seemed to the Royal Commissioners of 1863 to warrant the opinion that these extra-territorial regulations applied to all the seas around the British Isles (Report, Royal Commission on Sea Fisheries, i. p. lxiii). On the other hand, it was contended that the words quoted must be construed strictly, and included only those seas which were situated geographically between the two countries. This difference of opinion as to the interpretation of the phrase in question does not, however, affect the validity of Article ix. of the convention, one of the principal objects of which was to determine the limits of exclusive fishery.
[1186] Vide 46 & 47 Vict., c. 22, s. 24.
[1187] Report from the Select Committee on Oyster Fisheries, p. 1. 1876.
[1188] 19th, 22nd, and 23rd Reports Fishery Board for Scotland, Part I. Corresponding particulars are not given in the English or Irish fishery reports.
[1189] 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 Søterritoriets Grænse, saaledes som denne er bestemt ved den almindelige Folkeret, eller ved særlige internationale Overenskomster for Islands Vedkommende maatte blive fastsat, straffes de med Bøder fra 10 til 200 Rd.” C. F. Drechsel, Samling af Islandske Love, Forordninger, m.m. gældende for Fiskeriet paa Søterritoriet ved Island, 1892.) Later laws, both for the Faröes and Iceland, merely referred to the “territorial sea.”
[1190] Convention between His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and His Majesty the King of Denmark for regulating the Fisheries of their respective Subjects outside Territorial Waters in the Ocean surrounding the Faröe Islands and Iceland. Art. ii. “The subjects of His Majesty the King of Denmark shall enjoy the exclusive right of fishery within the distance of three 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 three 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 ten miles.” The geographical limits for the application of the convention, which embodies practically the same regulations as in the North Sea Convention, are as follows: on the south, by a line commencing from where the meridian of North Unst Lighthouse (Shetland Islands) meets the parallel of 61st degree of north latitude to a point where the 9th meridian of west longitude meets the parallel of 60° north latitude, and from thence westward along that parallel to the meridian of 27° west longitude; on the west, by the meridian of 27° west longitude; on the north, by the parallel of 67° 30´ of north latitude; on the east, by the meridian of the North Unst Lighthouse (which is about 50´ west longitude). The area is thus very large, much larger than the North Sea. The convention continues in force until the expiration of two years from notice by either party for its termination, and a clause is inserted providing for the adhesion of any other Government whose subjects fish in the ocean surrounding the Faröe Islands and Iceland.
[1191] “Das positive deutsche Recht enthält keinerlei ausdrückliche Bestimmung über die Grenze der Küstengewässer landwärts.... Auch für die Grenze seewärts hat das deutsche Recht keine ausdrückliche Bestimmung, und adoptiert in dieser Richtung lediglich die Regeln des Völkerrechts.” Harburger, Fifteenth Ann. Rep. Internat. Law Assoc., 73. 1893.