About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

4 Int'l J. Estuarine & Coastal L. 52 (1989)
French Fishing Rights in Canadian Waters: The 1986 La Bretagne Arbitration

handle is hein.journals/ljmc4 and id is 60 raw text is: French Fishing Rights in Canadian Waters: The 1986 La Bretagne Arbitration Ted L. McDorman* Visiting Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, BC, Canada 1 Introduction Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a collection of small islands located 12 miles from the south coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland, are the footnote to the eighteenth-century French possession of much of North America. When France relinquished its colonial possessions in 1763, Great Britain ceded to France Saint- Pierre and Miquelon to serve as a shelter to the French fishermen.' Since 1763 the fishing rights of the French in Canadian coastal waters have been protected by several treaties.2 In 1972 Canada and France modernized the century-old obligations with the con- clusion of a new agreement on mutual fishing relations.3 Canada agreed that in the event of an extension of fishing zones beyond the then-existing 12 nautical miles,4 French nationals would have the right to fish in these waters subject to Canadian quota control.5 The area of major concern for Canada was the Gulf of St. Law- rence. In 1971 Canada, by use of a fishery closing line, announced its intention to * The author wishes to thank Professors Donat Pharand, William Burke, Don McRae and Mr. Peter Underwood for their helpful comments. Art. IV of the Definitive Treaty of Peace between France, Great Britain and Spain, signed at Paris, 10 February 1763, reprinted in C. Parry (ed.), Consolidated Treaty Series, Vol. 42 (Oceana, Dobbs Ferry, 1969), pp. 279-345. 2 Discussed in The Canada-France Arbitration on the Dispute Concerning Filleting within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, award of 17 July 1986, paras. 7-9 reprinted (in French) in (1986) 90 Revue Gnerale de Droit International Public 713-786 and (1987) 17 Revue Ginerale de Droit 831-896. 3 Agreement between Canada and France on their Mutual Fishing Relations. Done at Ottawa, 27 March 1972. Entered into force 27 March 1972. Reprinted in UN Legislative Series, National Legis- lation and Treaties Relating to the Law of the Sea (New York, 1974), pp. 570-572 and ibid. para. 3. 4 In 1964 Canada put in place a 9 nautical mile fishing zone in addition to the traditional 3 nautical mile territorial sea. In 1970 the fishing zone was subsumed by a 12 nautical mile territorial sea. Terri- torial Seas and Fishing Zones Act, RSC 1970, c. T-7, as amended RSC 1970 (1st Supp.), c. 45, s. 3(1). Op. cit. n. 3, Art. 2. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ESTUARINE AND COASTAL LAW, VOL 4, NO 1, K Graham & Trotman Limited, 1989

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most