The Sovereignty of the Sea / An Historical Account of the Claims of England to the Dominion of the British Seas, and of the Evolution of the Territorial Waters

by Thomas Wemyss Fulton

[1232] Tratado de comercio con el emperador de Marruecos, 20th November 1861, Revista de Pesca Marítima, xiv. 149, 1898. López y Medina, op cit., 72.

[1233] This is also the interpretation made by Mr Arctander (Norsk Fiskeritidende, Tolvte Aargang, 1893, p. 464) of the wording of the ordinances, that the line must be drawn through points that lie above the water at high tide (flod), the rule thus differing from the usual one. On the other hand, the Norwegian Department of the Interior, in replying to certain queries from the International Law Association, stated, with reference to the royal ordinance of 1812 ([see p. 653]), that “it is not expressly said whether the distance is to be reckoned at half-tide, high-water, or low-water”; and they did not suggest which ought to be adopted. Rep., Seventeenth Conference, 1895, p. 301. The Danish terms agree with the Swedish. [See p. 655].

[1234] Professor Auber thus states the practice in Norway: “Nous avons regardé comme tout naturel que, l’île n’étant pas située plus qu’à, deux anciens milles marins (deux quinzièmes de degré) de la terre ferme, l’étendue de la mer territoriale doive être compter jusqu’à un mille au delà de l’île, et ainsi de suite d’île en île” (Annuaire de l’Institut de Droit International for 1889, p. 139). M. Kleen, on the other hand, speaks of the outermost isle being included “sous la condition que cette île ou ce brisant ne soit pas situé plus loin de la côte qu’une lieu géographique” (Fifteenth Ann. Rep., Internat. Law Association, p. 20). The Norwegian law refers to “the island or islet farthest from the mainland, and not covered by the sea,” while M. Kleen says: “Comme brisant à compter sera alors considéré chacun qui n’est pas continuellement submergé par la mer ... pourvu qu’il soit à découvert périodiquement et que la mer ne le couvre pas toujours.”

[1235] Kongelig Resolution af 16 Oktober 1869: “At en ret linie, trukket i en geografisk mils afstand fra og parallelt med en ret linie mellem Storholmen og Svinö, bliver at betragte som grændsen for den havstrækning udenfor den tilsvarende kyst af Söndmöres fogderi, paa hvilken fiskeriet er landets egen befolkning udelukkende forbeholdt.” Kongelig Resolution af 9 September 1889: “En linie, trukket i en geografisk mils afstand fra og parallelt med en linie fra Storholmen over Skraapen (udenfor Harö), Gravskjær (udenfor Ona) og Kalven (det yderste af Orskjærene) til yderste Jevleholme udenfor Grip, bliver at betragte som grændsen for den havstækning udenfor den tilsvarende kyst af Romsdal amt, paa hvilken fiskeriet er landets egen befolkning udelukkende forbeholdt.”

[1236] From about 62° 20´ N. lat. and 5° 13´ E. long, to about 63° 13´ N. lat. and 7° 35´ E. long.

[1237] Provisorisk Anordnung angaaende vaartorskefiskeriet ved Söndmöres kyster, 3 Jan. 1870; Lov angaaende vaartorskefiskeriet ved Söndmöres kyster, 6 June 1878; Lov om vaartorskefiskeriet ved Romsdals amts kyst og fjorde, 1 July 1907.

[1238] It is referred to in A.D. 888. The fishery is prosecuted from about the middle of January to the end of April; in 1908 over 20,000 fishermen, drawn from all the neighbouring parts of the coast, took part in it. Aarsberetning vedkommende Norges Fiskerier for 1908: 4^de Hefte. Lofotfiskeriet, 1908.

[1239] “Le droit exclusif de la pêche dans le golfe du Vestfjord, consacré par un usage plusieurs fois seculaire, n’a jusqu’ici été l’objet d’aucune disposition legislative.” Letter of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, 6th August 1908. “The Vestfjord through centuries has been considered as Norwegian territorial waters, but no decree or decision as to the special frontier or limit between this fjord and the open sea has been issued up to the present.” Letter from his Excellency M. J. Irgens, the Norwegian Minister, 13th June 1908. Having some difficulty in getting authentic copies of the various Norwegian decrees, I applied to Dr Fridtjof Nansen, then Norwegian Minister in London, and later received full information from three sources—from Mons. J. Irgens, Dr Nansen’s successor, and now the Foreign Minister of Norway; by the courtesy of Sir Reginald MacLeod; and through Dr Baty, the Secretary to the International Law Association.

[1240] 5th January 1881; 19th June 1880; 14th June 1890; 17th December 1896; 7th January 1904. In the law of 17th December 1896 the limits are mentioned as follows: “Paa Havstrækningen ved Tromsø Amts og Finmarkens Amts Kyst i en Afstand af indtil én geografisk Mil fra Kysten, regnet fra den yderste Ø eller Holme, som ikke overskylles af Havet, skal det indtil videre være forbudt at jage, anskyde eller dræbe Hval i Tidsrummet fra 1ste Januar til Udgangen af Mai. For Varangerfjordens Vedkommende i Finmarkens Amt bliver Grændsen for den fredede Strækning udad mod Havet en ret Linie trukket fra Kibergnæs til Grændse, Jakobselv, dog saaledes, at det ogsaa udenfor denne Linie skal være forbudt i den ovenanførte Tid at jage, anskyde eller dræbe Hval i kortere Afstand fra Kysten ved Kibergnæs end én geografisk Mil.” See also Auber, Annuaire, xi. 136, 1892; Kleen, Fifteenth Ann. Rep. Internat. Law Assoc., 17; Aschehoug, Norges nuvarende Retsforfatning, 90; Kleen, Neutralitetens Lagar, 1889; Norsk Fiskeritidende, 1893, 461.

[1241] “Räknadt från kusten eller längst ut från denna liggande ö eller skär, som ej ständigt af hafvet öfversköljes.” Svensk Fiskeri Tidskrift, 9e Årg., p. 78.