UN General Assembly
1976

189. As a result a number of States have taken unilateral action by declaring a 200-mile limit for fishing. This is having the effect of diverting the fishing effort of other States from the waters thus brought within national jurisdictions to waters in the vicinity of my country and its partners in the European Community. These waters close to our coast are already disastrously over-fished because of the total inadequacy of international conservation methods, and the short-sighted and indiscriminate depredations of the fishing fleets of certain countries. We cannot face the extinction of our fishing industry, on which our country is heavily dependent and which accounts for a significant part of the potential resources of our State. Accordingly, my Government, in consultation with its partners in the European Community, has reluctantly concluded that it will be necessary to extend its fishing limits in the near future owing to the delay in reaching world-wide agreement. In doing so we are convinced that a large majority of governments consider that States should be entitled to such limits, and we expect that the convention which we all hope the Conference will adopt will include a provision to that effect. In the meantime we are confident, Mr. President, that you and your collaborators at the Conference will find appropriate procedures for preparing the work of the next session. We look forward to the eventual success of the Conference in adopting a widely accepted comprehensive convention.