01316.

JPRS 82156

3 November 1982

Worldwide Report

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 212

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ANNIVERSARY

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JPRS 82156

3 November 1982

WORLDWIDE REPORT

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 212

CONTENTS

WORLDWIDE AFFAIRS

Baltic Commission Fails To Agree To Limit Cod, Salmon Catch

(Elle-Kari Hojeberg; DAGENS NYHETER, 30 Sep 82)

ASIA

INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

Taiwanese Fishing Vessel Caught in New Zealand Waters

(THE EVENING POST, 2 Oct 82)

AUSTRALIA

WA Fisherman Seek Easier Prosecution of Foreign Poachers

(THE WEST AUSTRALIAN, 2 Sep 82)

INDIA

Briefs

Offshore Oil Exploration 5

Gippsland Basin Flow 5

Six-Well Gippsland Plan 5

Briefs

Versatile Research Ship

NEW ZEALAND

Chaos in Maritime Laws Predicted Unless LOS Enforced

(THE PRESS, various dates)

Foreign Ministry Official, by Karren Beanland

Christchurch 'PRESS' Editorial

-a - [III - WW - 136]
Local Fishing Industry Termed Economic Success Story

(THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 27 Sep 82) 11

Regulations on Skipjack Tuna Fishing Promulgated

(Various sources, various dates) 12

Domestic Fishing Reduced

Super Seiner Laid Up

Industry Board Protests

Squid Catch Quotas Set at Same Level as 1982

(THE EVENING POST, 2 Oct 82) 14

Drilling Rig To Begin Offshore Exploration in June 1983

(THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 9 Sep 82) 15

Minister Warns Against Overexploitation of Fisheries

(THE EVENING POST, 9 Sep 82) ] 16

Briefs

Fish Catch Statistics 17

THAILAND

Incentives Prompt Fishermen To Risk Jail Overseas for

Territorial Waters Violations

(Nongnuth Kimanonth; BANGKOK POST, 9 Sep 82) 18

LATIN AMERICA

BAHAMAS

Committees Work To Counter Oil Spills in Local Waters

(THE TRIBUNE, 24 Sep 82) 21

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SEYCHELLES

Action Plan Drawn Up To Protect Our Sea Resources

(NATION, 1 Oct 82) 22

WEST EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Swedish Fishermen Angry at Norway for Warning Shots in Zone

(Per Sjogren; DAGENS NYHETER, 4 Sep 82) 24

- b -
WORLDWIDE AFFAIRS

BALTIC COMMISSION FAILS TO AGREE TO LIMIT COD, SALMON CATCH

Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER in Swedish 30 Sep 82 p 5

[Article by Elle-Kari Hojeberg]

[Text] The Baltic Fisheries Commission, which concluded its annual meeting in

Warsaw last week, has once again failed to reach agreement on the allocation

of cod and salmon fishing in the Baltic Sea. The result is that the stock may

eventually be depleted.

The fisheries commission consists of the seven Baltic states. It meets every

year to agree on the allocation of fishing in the Baltic during the coming

year.

Concerning herring and Baltic herring, the commission decided to recommend to

the member states that the total catch during 1983 not exceed 474,900 tons.

Of that total, a maximum catch of 89,000 tons will be allowed in the Gulf of

Bothnia and the Aland Sea. In the Swedish fishing zone in the rest of the

Baltic Sea, the highest catch allowed will be 102,000 tons, meaning that fishing in that area can be kept at the same level as this year.

The commission is also recommending that the total catch of sprat remain unchanged at 47,900 tons, of which 5,500 tons can be taken in the Swedish fishing

zone.

As far as cod and salmon fishing is concerned, the commission has failed for

several years to reach agreement. Biologists are recommending restrictions on

the fishing quota that several of the member states have not been able to accept.

"Since no agreement could be reached, each country must set its own limits on

salmon and cod fishing," says Hans Danelius, under secretary for legal and consular affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is the newly elected

chairman of the fisheries commission.

The combined catch will therefore exceed the level considered suitable by biologists in view of the fish population.
Where salmon are concerned, the issue is further complicated by the fact that

much of the stock is artificially produced.

Overfishing

"The young salmon are put out in rivers, especially in Sweden and to a lesser

extent in Finland and the Soviet Union," says Hans Danelius.

"Sweden therefore claims that they should also have a larger share of the salmon

fishing quota. But Denmark, for example, which has an extensive salmon fishing

industry, has refused to accept that."

The commission did agree, however, that the off-season for salmon will again

be extended by 2 weeks this year as a measure for protecting the stock.

Bo Palsson, representative for the South Coast Fisheries Central Union, says:

"In general, we are pleased with the agreement reached in Warsaw."

11798

CSO: 5200/2502
INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

TAIWANESE FISHING VESSEL CAUGHT IN NEW ZEALAND WATERS

Wellington THE EVENING POST in English 2 Oct 82 p 1

[Text]

A Taiwanese fishing vessel inside

New Zealand waters was swooped on by

the Navy early this morning, following a

two-day stake-out of the vessel by Air

Force Orions.

The trawler, 51 Feng Yuan, was one of

two intruders detected inside this country's

200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

by patrolling RNZAF aircraft this week.

Korean representatives have since been

'requested to order a Korean long-liner,

Dong Jin, into Auckland for investigation.

The Taiwanese vessel was caught in the

northern most part of the EEZ near the

Kermadec Islands, about 450 nautical miles

northeast of Auckland.

It is now being escorted to Auckland by

the Navy's hydrographic survey vessel,

HMNZS Monowai, and is expected to berth

about Tuesday or Wednesday.

The whole operation has been largely

orchestrated by the 24-hour fisheries control centre in Wellington, and was described

by the fisheries controller, Lt-Cdr David

Davies, as being "as near a text-book operation as could have been wished for." . Monowai was near Tonga at the time the

intruders were detected, and was dispatched to carry out surface interception

with the trawler. Monowai crewmen

boarded the vessel.

Meanwhile, the RNZAF maintained a 24-

hour surveillance of the foreign boats

before Monowai intercepted the Taiwanese

boat at 7am today.

Mr Davies said the operation had to be

played "extremely quietly" because of the

distance Monowai had to come in order to

intercept one of the offenders.

No word of the operation was leaked.

Orions conducted their surveillance from

high altitudes so no suspicions were aroused

onboard the fishing boats.

Monowai literally "downed tools" in the

middle of a survey off Tonga to take part in

the operation and will later return to pick

up crew and equipment.

CSO: 5200/9109
AUSTRALIA

WA FISHERMEN SEEK EASIER PROSECUTION OF FOREIGN POACHERS

\

Perth THE WEST AUSTRALIAN in English 2 Sep 82 p 42

[Text] WA FISHERMEN say that amendments to the Fisheries Act to

make it easier for the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife to

obtain convictions for offences involving foreign vessels are embarrassing but necessary.

The amendments, contained in legislation before State Parliament,

place the onus of proof

on the defence when a

person is charged with

using a foreign boat to

commit an offence.

People charged under

the amended Fisheries

Act would have to

prove that their boat

was not a foreign boat.

The Minister for Fisheries and Wildlife, Mr

Old, said when introducing the legislation

that the amendments

had been introduced

because of difficulties

in prosecuting Indonesian fishing boats.

Council view

The WA president of

the Australian Fishing

Industries Council, Mr

Graeme Stewart, said

yesterday that it was

embarrassing that

people could be regarded as guilty till proved

innocent.

But it seemed necessary to give the department the power it

needed to control such

offences.

"At the moment,

those who have been

doing the right thing

are probably saying to

themselvs that they

are pretty stupid when

others are getting off

free," he said.

Mr Stewart said that

the council also approved amendments to

the Act to dispense

with the need for pert

sonal fishing licences

for members of fishing

crews.

At present, it was %

ficult for owners or

masters of fishing vessels to recruit extra

crew if some left the

ship during a stopover

at a regional port.

CSO: 5200/7505
AUSTRALIA

BRIEFS

OFFSHORE OIL EXPLORATION—OFFSHORE petroleum exploration received a muchneeded shot in the arm yesterday with the announcement that two major consortia

planned to spend $41 million on two areas off the northern West Australian

coast. The consortia will drill a total of six wells to explore WA-196P in

the Carnarvon Basin and WA-197P in the Browse Basin. They plan to carry out a

total of 2600km of seismic survey. Yesterday's news will be a confidence

booster for the oil exploration industry which has been in the doldrums and

was rocked last month by the Esso-BHP consortium's decision to pull out of a

$60 million drilling program on the Exmouth Plateau because of a disagreement

with the West Australian Government. The only slight disappointment of the

latest news is that the two consortia were the only ones to apply for the off

shore areas. In the past the West Australian Government could have counted on

several competing groups to boost the level of work commitments. A consortium

led by Petrofina Exploration Australia has been awarded WA-196P for six years

The permit covers an area of about 18,300 sq km south-west of Shark Bay During

the permit period theconsortium plans to drill four exploration wells and undertake 1100km of seismic survey, for a total expenditure of $21.3 million

[Text] [Canberra THE AUSTRALIAN in English 2 Sep 82 p 11]

GIPPSLAND BASIN FLOW—MELBOURNE—Bream five well in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria, had recovered gas and very small volumes of condensate, Broken

H

^i ^°Prietary

Co Ltd said yesterday. BHP said the well had reached a depth

of 3,018 metres where wireline logs had been run. The gas recovery resulted

from a wireline test run over the interval 2,707 metres to 3,018 metres. The

condensate was recovered from 2,833 metres, 2,947.8 metres and 2,968 metres

[Text] [Brisbane THE COURIER-MAIL in English 3 Sep 82 p 30]

SIX-WELL GIPPSLAND PLAN—Phillips Australian Oil Company will begin a six

wells drilling programme off the coast of Victoria. The company, acting as

operator for two consortia, will drill four wells in Vic P18 in the Gippsland

Basin, and two wells in Vic P 14 in the offshore Otway Basin by the end of

1983. Phillips has an equal share with MIM and Lend Lease Petroleum in the

Gippsland Basin permit, while it equally shares the Otway Basin permit with

MIM and the Gas and Fuel Corporation. The Gas and Fuel Corporation said yesterday that the two consortia had contracted the sem-submersible Diamond "M"

Epoch for the drilling programme. The first well will be the highly prospective Discovery Bay 1 well off Portland. [Text] [Melbourne THE AGE in English

17 Sep 82 p 18]

CSO: 5200/7505
INDIA

BRIEFS

VERSATILE RESEARCH SHIP—India has just taken delivery of an oceanographic research

ship built by the Schlichting Shipyard in the Baltic Sea port of Luebeck-Travemuende

and financed entirely (DM 80 Millions) by the Federal Republic of Germany. The 100-

metre-long and 16.39-metre-wide Sagar Kanya, which has a maximum speed of 14.25 knots,

is one of the largest and most modern oceanographic research vessels in the world,

according to Mr. Heinz Ebert, Manager of the Schlichting Shipyard. Unlike other

ships of its kind, it is capable of conducting experiments in a very wide area of

oceanographic research. The ship has a wide variety of basic outfits like laboratories, special equipment and working area to conduct research activities in geology,

geophysics, meteorology, physical and chemical oceanography and marine biology.

Sagar Kanya will further expand the research activities carried out by the National

Institute of Oceanography on board the indigenously-designed and built research ship

Gaveshani in collecting polymetallic nodules from the Indian Ocean seabed. The

collection of the nodules containing manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper has assumed

great significance especially after India qualified for the status of "pioneer investor" as defined by the recent U.N. Law of the Sea Conference. The christening of

the 1,300-tonne dwt vessel was done by Mrs. Zainub Khusro, wife of India's Ambassador

to West Germany, Dr. A. M. Khusro. [Text] [Madras THE HINDU in English 15 Sep 82

P 7]

CSO: 5200/7001
NEW ZEALAND

CHAOS IN MARITIME LAWS PREDICTED UNLESS LOS ENFORCED

Foreign Ministry Official

Christchurch THE PRESS in English 30 Sep 82 p 16

[Article by Karren Beanland]

[Text]

Unless the Law of the Sea

agreement comes into force,

the world's maritime laws will

be in chaos, Mr W. R. Mansfield, a member of the New

Zealand delegation at several

sessions of the Law of the Sea

conference, told a Parliamentary seminar in Wellington last

week.

Mr Mansfield, who is the

head of the legal division of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

gave a background to the Law

of the Sea to the 26 Australasian and Pacific regional delegates at the two-day seminar.

The Law of the Sea negotiations had often been disparaged because they had taken 10

years and after all that time,

the United States had said it

would not sign the agreement.

However, the negotiations

had resulted in a revolution in

maritime law Mr Mansfield

said. They had set new rules on

ownership, rights of access,

and exploitation for an area

that covered the greater part

of the planet. Considering the

scope of its task, the conference had completed its work in

a relatively short time. Its

consequences would be "here

to stay."

The agreement was of very

great significance to countries

in the South Pacific, he said.

Before the 1950s, the general

belief was that maritime law

was settled. Each country

owned the narrow band of sea

surrounding it. Beyond that,

the sea belonged to everybody.

In effect, there was no law

at all, he said.

A feeling grew that the laws

were inadequate and inequitable.

They were inadequate because of the changes in technology, which changed many oi

the fundamental assumptions

on which the laws were based.

. Technological developments

made possible the mining oi

minerals and oil from'the sea

bed. In the 1950s, nearly all oil

was exploited on land; now

more than 20 per cent of the

world's oil supply came off

shore. It was also recognised

that major mineral and metal

resources, such as manganese,

cobalt, and copper, were available on the sea bed.

Advances in fishing technology, particularly the development of highly mobile fishing

fleets, challenged the assumption that fish was a renewable

and limitless resource.

Growing problems with pollution and military uses of the

sea also showed the inadequacy

of the old maritime laws.
. About 10 million tonnes of

pollutants, from the trans-

;, portätion of chemicals, from

oil exploitation, and from the

run-off from fertilisers, went

into the sea each year.

"We now have submarines

capable of circumnavigating

the world under water ina

very short time and the possibility of nuclear weapons on

the sea bed," said Mr Mansfield. . On top of these problems,

there wasa growing recognition by the coastal states, especially in the Third World,

that the developed nations had

an advantage because of their

access to technology and ' finance.

Late in the 1940s and 1950s,

the first crisis in traditional

maritime law emerged whena

number of countries made ! claims of sovereignty extending well beyond the accepted

three-mile limit. The United : States claimed that the contin- ' ental shelf belonged to it — the

first time any country had

madea claim to the sea bed.

"If this was carried far

enough, we had the prospect of a new kind of colonial

scramble," he said.

In 1958 and in 1960, the

United Nations convened two

conferences on the Law of the

Sea to stabilise the situation.

;

These produced four conventions, but they failed to reach

'agreement ph. the size.of territorial seas and'to find a lasting

definition of the continental

shelf.

It was feared that if something was not done to control

the rapid expansion of coastal

'state claims, they would eventually extend so far that they

would meet in the middle of

the ocean.

It was soon realised thata

new Law of the Sea conference

could not confine itself to these

points alone. Hules on the

exploitation of the deep sea

-bed, on the rights of passage

through international straits,

on the prevention of pollution,

on research, and on the settling

of disputes were needed.

Achieving these rules in an

agreement was complicated by

the conflicting interests of the

groups involved. Big maritime

nations, islands and coastal

states, and land-locked countries all had different desires

which had to be reconciled.

Gaining agreement for the

300-clause treaty wasa laborious process, which represented

"quite an achievement." The

treaty detaileda very complex

regime, which protected the

deep sea bed as part of the

common heritage of mankind

and allowed exploitation to

take place under the control of

an international sea bed authority, which would be baaed in

Jamaica,i : ":" :,: . . T rae"Unite<raates Ttarbpi ; prepared to sign ttelgree'tfient

until the Republican administration was elected in 1980.

President Ronald Reagan's

reaction to it was "negative"

and, even aftera year-long

review, the United States decided not to sign it.

"Even without the United

States, the adoption of the

convention is extremely important. As long as the rules

set out in the agreement were

only ina draft, there wasa

danger that they could be

undermined," he said.

"It is important that as

many countries as possible sign

the convention, so we can bring

it into effect."

Mr Mansfield said that.the

agreement was particularly

significant for Pacific nations.

Their success was because they

worked together well and became an extremely effective

negotiating group. They managed to focus attention on the

Pacific ina way that had not

been achieved in other negotiaf tions. ' After a long and "hard ; fought" battle, they managed

to include in the treatya

clause giving small islands the

right to the same sized economic zone as big nations. It

protected the right to all the

fish in the economic zone,

^including migratory species

isuch as tuna. i % *^ag!r«$inÄ for arch*

;peIagos "provided protection for

Fiji, Papua-New Guinea, and

the Solomon Islands. They

wereg entitled to base their

200-mile economic zone from

the line around the outermost

islands in the group. Areas

within the group could be designated as international

waters.

The right ofa coastal state

to exploit the continental shelf,

even beyond its economic zone,

was protected. This applied

especially to Australia and

New Zealand.

Mr Mansfield said that the

Law of the Sea conference had

its final sitting last week, when

it agreed on the wording of the

treaty in six languages. The

agreement will be open for'

signing in Jamaica from

December6 to 10, this year.

The New Zealand Cabinet

has yet to give its final agreement to the treaty, although

the Government has indicated

its support in the past and the

Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon,

has been an advocate for the

treaty.A resolution passed at

the recent South Pacific Forum

conference in Rotorua recently

called on all countries to support the agreement. . A spokesman from Mr Muldoon's office said the Cabinet

would be asked to ratify the

treaty in the next three

months.
Christchurch 'PRESS* Editorial

Christchurch THE PRESS in English 2 Oct 82 p 14

[Editorial: "Interests in Law of Sea"]

[Text]

The Pacific countries, including Australia

and New Zealand, are among those which

'have great interests at stake in the

outcome of negotiations on the Law of the

Sea. The granting of fishing rights to

foreign fishermen in waters around New

Zealand is among the practical

applications of the law. The 200-mile

Exclusive Economic Zones have become so

widespread that it can easily be forgotten

that these zones, and the management of

fishing within them, were linked to the

establishment'of a new Law of the Sea.

Although the Law of the Sea Treaty

was adopted, the United States rejected it.

Unless it is endorsed by the United States

the treaty can be considered to be

incomplete. One of the worrying aspects of

the failure to conclude the negotiations is

that most coastal States have designated

200-mile zones for themselves already. The

basic deal in the treaty was that coastal

States would get their 200-mile zones and

other countries would get the rights to pass

through and fly over these zones. Although

the zones have been claimed, the treaty

must be accepted widely as law before the

rights of passäge and overflight are

guaranteed.

All kinds of difficulties could arise

over passage through straits or though

groups of islands. Because of the power

and influence of the United States, the

treaty needs the backing of that country to

help the credibility of the new Law of the

Sea. The condition in which the United

States has left the treaty is bad enough. If

the United States also made a treaty

among technologically-advanced countries

to share the resources of the deep seabed,

the treaty would be seriously undermined.

The United States rejected the draft of,

the treaty because of American

reservations about the arrangements for

the mining of the deep seabed. A revealing

discussion of what occurred within the

Reagan Administration and , within the

American delegation to the negotiations

was published in the American journal,

"Foreign Affairs." The article was written

by the deputy chairman of the American

delegation, Mr Leigh S. Ratiner. He

confirmed what had long been suspected,

that the conflict within the United States

was between the ideologues and the

pragmatists.

The ideologues, arguing on matters of

principle, rejected all concepts such as that

the deep seabed is part of the "common

heritage of mankind." They were against

any restrictions on American companies

which wanted to mine. The ideologues did

not want any sharing of technology or any

international authority which would share

in the development of the resources of the

deep seabed. The pragmatists wanted to

secure as many rights for American

interests as possible and were prepared to

stomach, though without enthusiasm, some

of the rhetoric of the Third World. The

pragmatists considered that over-all

American interests would he harmed if the

United States rejected the convention

outright. The ideologues won and the

negotiating team went to the table with a

series of propositions that were not

acceptable to the conference. New Zealand

and 11 other countries tried in vain to

• effect a compromise.

The most pressing matter for a

number of the countries of the South

Pacific in declaring their Exclusive

Economic Zones is the refusal of the

. United States to recognise the right of

coastal States to tuna, which are a highly

migratory species of fish. The importance

to the Pacific countries is that tuna is, in

some instances, the only valuable fish

resource they have. The Pacific Forum

countries had hoped that once the Law of

the Sea Treaty was signed, the United

States would be able to change its own law

on highly migratory species. Now that the

United States has refused to sign the treaty

there seems little chance that the United

States will be able to do much to restrain

its fishermen. An incident in which Papua

New Guinea arrested an American tuna

boat and the possibility of sanctions being

imposed against Papua New Guinea left

some resentment in Papua New Guinea.

The possibility of further similar incidents

remains high.

In a broader sense, the rejection of the

treaty by the United States is

embarrassing to friends of the United

States. The Soviet Union abstained on the

vote but has since said that it will sign the

treaty. This means that the United States

can be depicted by the Soviet Union as

greedy and the Reagan Administration as

being influenced strongly by commercial
interests. Such arguments may well have

some influence among poorer countries, of

which the Pacific has several. It is an

argument that is all the harder to rebut

because commercial interests undoubtedly

had a profound influence on the Reagan

Administration on the issue.

Many other countries have no less

interest in grabbing what they can from

the oceans. They may even depend upon it,

and the label "national interest" is much

more respectable than "commercial

interest," even if the results in the oceans

are the same. Such terms as "common

heritage of mankind" hardly stand an

attempt at definition. Mankind may seem

to be master of what it is technically able

to exploit and consume; inheritance implies

a proprietorship that amounts to no more

than human presumption.

Nevertheless, such terms are

conveniently invented for the purposes of

what can be agreed upon as prudent

management, conservation, and an

allocation of resources with minimal

dispute and some regard for custom. The

world at large would be far better off if

the United States joined in the treaty and

used its influence for a common good in

which it would have its fair share.

CSO: 5200/9110

10
LOCAL FISHING INDUSTRY TERMED ECONOMIC SUCCESS STORY

Auckland THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD in English 27 Sep 82 p 22

[Text]

NEW ZEALAND

CSO: 5200/9110

Despite all the problems

usually associated with

rapid expansion, the

development of the New

Zealand fishing industry is

an economic success story, ,

says the Fishing Industry

Board.

In a review of the industry,

the board says fishing has

been one of the nation's

growth areas in the last five

years.

New Zealand has been able

to take advantage of the new

regime imposed by the Law

of the Sea Conference and introduced in 1977.

Since then 27 vessels of

more than 25 metres have

been put into service by the

local fishing industry.

Doubled

They cost about $43 million

to buy, although almost all

were imported secondhand

under the Government's

duty-free import scheme for

new or nearly new fishing

boats.

The replacement cost of

these craft has now almost

doubled, says the board.

It says the total investment

in the New Zealand fleet

«mounted to about $60

million in 1977, and that gave

an indication of the capital

investment which has taken

place since in the catching

sector.

During the past five years

about $25 million has also

been invested in onshore processing and port facilities.

Export Bise

In 1977 the fishing industry, including joint ventures harvested 85,000

tonnes; in 1981 production

reached 225,000 tonnes, about

half of which was provided

by joint-venture craft.

Export» have increased

6veh >more dramatically,

from 26,000 tonnes valued at

$50 million in 1977 to an estihiated 120,000 tonnes valued

•at $230 million in 1982.

The board says this reflects considerable emphasis

given to export development.

Not Easy

About 1200 new jobs directly related to fishing have

been created during the five

years.

The board says it was not

easy for the industry to expand to its present stage and

a period of consolidation is

niw needed.

One of the most difficult

a'lcs ahe^d, it says, will be

to continue the integration of

joint ventures into the domestic industry in a way which

does not dislocate existing

operations.

11
NEW ZEÄIAND

REGULATIONS ON SKIPJACK TUNA FISHING PROMULGATED

Domestic Fishing Reduced

Christchurch THE PRESS in English 30 Sep 82 p 2

[Text]

Chartered purse-seiners

will be allowed limited access to New Zealand territorial waters for the coming

skipjack tuna season.

The Minister of Fisheries,

,'Mr Maclntyre. said the

vessels would be permitted

to purse seine for skipjack on

,the west coast of the North

Island, but denied access to

territorial waters on the east

coast.

The position of the east

coast north of 35deg. would

be kept under review, particularly if the domestic fleet

did not fish the area.

Eleven charter applications had been approved. The

vessel approvals held by Jaybol (three), Watties (three),

' New Zealand Pelagic (three),

and Nelson Fisheries (one)

last year had been renewed

and a new approval had been

extended to Purse Seiner

Services (N.Z.), Ltd.

He said the increase in the

vessel allocation had been

made because domestic fishing was likely to be reduced

as the big New Zealandowned vessel Finisterre was

not expected to work in New

«Zealand waters during the

[coming skipjack season.

There would be provision

to reallocate these approvals

to successful charterers or

new ventures if existing ventures did not recruit vessels

by December 1.

Scientists estimated the

skipjack run through New

Zealand waters could yield

34,000 tonnes a year, Mr

Maclntyre said.

Domestic and joint-venture

catches. toaether^Äifcent

seasWiiäi*averlprabbut

7600 tonnes, and so the stock

was. cleariy, not jffldsr-MBJBfc

sonable pressure.

On average 58 per cent, or

14,000 tonnes, of the catchable resource was outside

the 12-mile limit each year

and 10,000 tonnes inside."

Every two or three years

the bulk of the fish surfaced

inside the limit, he said. For

this reason, on an experimental basis only, the chartered

purse-seiners were being permitted into the territorial

sea on the west coast this

season.

Licence fees would remain

at $65 a tonne, Mr Maclntyre

said.

No major changes were

proposed for the southern

bluefin tuna fishery in the

coming season. The existing

quota of 5000 fish would be

maintained in the west coast

winter fishery for domestic

vessels.

The request by the Federation of Commercal Fishermen for a back-up freezer

vessel for 1982-83 had been

agreed to in principle and ,a

final decision would be made

. when the results of the 1981-

82 season fishing became

known, he said.

Some 96 Japanese vessels,

• the same number as last

year, would be allowed into

the south and east coast

longline fishery for southern

bluefin. But in future years

this number was likely to be

.reduced to protect the stock

and to accommodate greater

domestic catching, Mr Maclntyre said.

To reflect market demand

for southern bluefin tuna,

licence fees were being increased from $27,000 to

: $36,000 a vessel.

12
Super Seiner Laid Up

Auckland THE NEW ZEAIAND HERALD in English 1 Oct 82 p 3

[Text]

New Zealand's first big

venture into international

purse seining with a super

seiner appears to have

failed.

The problem is that the

boat is laid up in the United

States. Her owners have

been given permission to

charter three foreign boats

to work New Zealand waters

in her place this summer.

The tuna clipper is the

1054-tonne Finisterre. When

she was taken over by the

New Zealand Pelagic Fisheries Development Company

in 1976 it was intended that

she pioneer international

skipjack tuna fishing by New

Zealanders in conjunction

with American interests.

That was one of the original conditions under which

American super seiners were

allowed into New Zealand's

200-mile zone.

The company said she had

been laid up in the United

States since the end of the

last New Zealand tuna season.

The Ministry of Agriculture

and Fisheries has just announced the regulations for

this summer's skipjack tuna

fishing and it allows the

Pelagic fishing company to

charter up to three foreign

boats.

The Finisterre is New Zealand registered and crewed.

A Pelagic company spokesman said there was a financial risk involved in employing her.

' Under many of the joint

venture agreements approved by the ministry, the New|

Zealand partners are not;

exposed to any financiali

risks. i

Their role is often little

more than a port agent who

organises providoring and

maintenance but takes a

percentage of the catch in

payment.

The Pelagic company

spokesman said the company

had taken foreign chartering

options because there was a

"no loss situation involved."

He said there was no particular intention to bring the

Finisterre to New Zealand

this season. Part of the problem was depressed tuna

prices. '

An associate company is

BOS' operating other New

fefländ mmM and maned

Super seiners in Fiji waters.

| They are the Western

Pacific and Western Ranger.

He said they had been

operating very successfully

in those waters but it was

too early to say if they

would come back to New

Zealand this season.

In announcing the new

skipjack fishing rules yesterday, the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Maclntyre said

they would be allowed access

to New Zealand territorial

waters this season.

Industry Board Protests

Auckland THE NEW ZEAIAND HERALD in English 2 Oct 82 p 8

[Text] Whangarei

A dangerous precedent

had been set with the ministerial decision to allow

both joint-venture and foreign purse-seiners within

New Zealand territorial

waters, says the chairman

of the Fishing Industry

Board, Mr Mark Hinchliff.

The board would make

very strong and urgent representations to the Minister

of Agriculture and Fisheries,

j Mr Maclntyre. expressing its

concern at the. decision to

allow the skipjack tuna boats

within the 12-mile limit.

"Allowing foreign vessels

within the 12-mile limit

would not occur anywhere

else in the world. It is setting

a serious and dangerous precedent, and we will tell the

CSO: 5200/9110

minister this," Mr Hinchliff

said.

The fishing industry board

met at Waitangi for one of

its two meetings each year

outside Wellington. It also

met, in committee, representatives of the Northland commercial fishing industry. Following the joint meeting, Mr

Hinchliff said both the board

and Northland fishermen had

been stronsly opposed to the

decision, released this week,

on the skipjack tuna licences.

"Our concern is that this

decision may be a precedent

for similar action in other

areas of the industry. Once it

has been established that we

are letting foreign vessels

into one sphere of the industry, we could have Deople

coming in under the law of

the seas in other spheres."

He said the board's concern was with the precedent

rather than at the implications on the skipjack tuna resources.

But on the surface the decision was unacceptable.

The ministerial decision on

the skipjack tuna sets no

vessel limits for the domestic

ventures and a limit of 11

vessels for co-operative ventures, one of which may be

Japanese.

"The Government has decided the fishery should yield

its full potential and therefore the catching capacity

'should, as far as possible, be

provided with access to the

"bulk of the resource each

season," says the department.

13
NEW ZEAIAND

SQUID CATCH QUOTAS SET AT SAME LEVEL AS 1982

Wellington THE EVENING POST in English 2 Oct 82 p 22

[Excerpt]

Quotas for the 1982-83

squid season have been set

at the same level as last

year, the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Maclntyre reports.

The exclusive economic

zone squid stock was still

assessed at 600,000 tonnes

by scientists, and as a result

the total allowable catch of

"90,000 tonnes set for 1981-82

would again apply, Mr

Macffltyre said.

This would be divided in

the same way as previously.

There would be a jigging allocation for the whole of the

zone of 40,000 tonnes, and a

trawl allocation of 50,000

tonnes made up of 30,000

tortnes to be taken from

Auckland and Campbell Island waters and 20,000 from

elsewhere in the zone.

Japan, Korea and the

USSR would again be allowed» to fraud for. around

|28,(HMr tonnes *The domestic

and joint venture fleets

IwouW have access to the remaining 27,000 tonnes or so.

The jigging quota of

40,000 tonnes would again be

available to 180 vessels. Of

f,these, 78 would be joint-venture and 102 foreignlicensed.

CSO: 5200/9110

1U
NEW ZEALAND

DRILLING RIG TO BEGIN OFFSHORE EXPLORATION IN JUNE 1983

Auckland THE NEW ZEAIAND HERALD in English 9 Sep 82 Sec 3 p 4

[Text!

New Zealand Oil and Gas

first well in its prime prospect

The company has also

secured a position in a well

to be drilled in another offshore Taran3ki block.

NZOG said yesterday that

a consortium had arranged

I for a semi-submersible drill-

! ing rig to start work in ,New

! Zealand waters in June. The

| present programme is for

the platform to drill at least

four wells. - NZOG has contracted for

one of the well "slots"'so

that a well can be drilled

within the area of its prospecting licence area 33113

during the permit year which

ends on May 15,1984.

The commitment has been

supported by Petrocorp, the.

other participant in the;

•licence area.

Reserved

NZOG has also taken a 10

per cent position in a second

well slot which has been reserved by the participants in

prospecting licence area

38116. Petrocorp is the operator for this area which lies

offshore, to the south of the

Kapuni field and is within

the Kupe block structure. A

Fletcher Challenge subsidiary is also a partner in

this licence area.

Ltd has contracted for a drilling rig to bore the

area in the Taranaki Basin.

The NZOG directors said

the commitments were a

reasonable commercial risk,

justified by the need to make

sure that a suitable rig was

available at competitive

rates to meet the company's

Likely drilling requirements

on areas in which it had

interests.

The rig is still under construction in Scotland. It is

described as the enhanced

Pacesetter design, capable of

operating in water depths of

up to 457 metres (1500ft) and

drilling to a depth of 7600

metres.

The rig is regarded as

being ideally suited to the

roughest weather conditions

in the Taranaki Basin and

elsewhere off the New Zealand coast, . and lost time

through bad weather is expected to be minimal.

Unsuccessful

The last New Zealand offshore drilling was completed

last year by the drill ship

Sedco 445 which left the

country in December: It was

unsuccessful : in a four-well

programme in spite of some

whiffs1 of hydrocarbons.

It drilled the Tangaroa well

.75 kilometres off Kawhia.

'Kiwa south-west of the Maui

field and Wainui 92 kilometres north-west of New

Plymouth for Shell BP Todd

and Petrocorp and the Mikonui.well off Greymouth for

a consortium of companies in

the NZ Petroleum licence

area.

The new rig will be the

first semi-submersible rig

used for drilling in New Zealand waters since Penrod 4

completed its programme for

the Seahunt partners, Hunt

Petroleum and Phillips Petroleum, in the Great South

Basin in the summer of 1973.

CSO: 5200/9108

15
NEW ZEALAND

MINISTER WARNS AGAINST OVEREXPLOITATION OF FISHERIES

Wellington THE EVENING POST in English 9 Sep 82 p 12

[Text]

Reckless exploitation at

the expense of management must riot be allowed to hole the buoyant

New Zealand fishing industry, according to the

Minister of Agriculture

and Fisheries, Mr Maclntyre.

Opening the joint Fisheries Research Centre/Oceanographic Institute

building at Greta Point, Mr

Maclntyre noted that export

receipts from fishing rose

from $20.4 million in 1973 to

$63.6 million in 1978.

"In the next three years

export values trebled again

to $192 million by the end of

1981," Mr Maclntyre said. .. However as demands on'

fisheries increased research

was needed to ensure a

future for the industry:

Manage

"We have a national and

international responsibility,

to manage our resources not

only for.the present but for

the future," said Mr Maclntyre. .:

"We need to developtowards full utilisation rath-./

er than reckless exploitation'

which has, all too often, led

to the downfall of fisheries

elsewhere in the world."

The $8.2 million centre

was an investment in the

future of the fishing industry, Mr Maclntyre believed.

Scientists of the centre

would continue research into

existing fishing methods and

new fields such as shellfish

farming, tuna export and orange roughy.

Research staff were

keenly aware their recommendations for conservation

or exploitation of stocks had

a serious impact on the livelihood of fishermen.

"Unlike their counterparts in agriculture, they

have to be concerned with

adjusting the harvest to the

•natural production — rather

than in trying to improve

production and the harvest,"

he said. .

^iocfessing

'.<: . Just • äs ;• in ' agriculture,

. however, it was increasingly

important to consider

further processing of the

product.

"They (fish) have cost

money to haul up from the

bed of the ocean and there

should be every effort to obtain the maximum return

from the catch in terms of

high-quality food products

and useful by-products," Mr

Maclntyre said.

"With the capital investments involved we cannot

afford to make mistakes,"

said Mr Maclntyre. "Thus as

the offshore fisheries in particular develop, so must the

accompanying scientific expertise."

CSO: 5200/9108

16
NEW ZEÄIAND

BRIEFS

FISH CATCH STATISTICS—Nelson, Sept 10 (PA)--Auckland had the most valuable

fishing catch landed last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

said today, while the biggest catch at any New Zealand port was at Nelson.

The ministry's domestic catch figures for 1981 released today show that

$8,250,000 worth of fish were landed at Auckland while at the city's Tasman

port, Manukau, $6,719,000 worth were brought ashore. Nelson's catch was

easily the biggest—14,591 tonnes were landed, the third most valuable at

$3,828,000. The Manukau catch was 8205 tonnes. Auckland was third with

7535, followed by Tauranga 7037, Gisborne 6800, Timaru 6377 and Greymouth

5316 tonnes. Other ports with their catch tonnages are: Port Chalmers 2512,

Lyttelton 2160, Wellington 2000, Motueka 1904, Napier 1897, Kaikoura 1617,

New Plymouth 1547, Mangonui 1453, Akaroa 1410, Bluff 1322, Wanganui 1168,

Whangerei 1158 and Raglan 1130. [Text] [Wellington THE EVENING POST in

English Sep 82 p 4]

CSO: 5200/9108

17
THAILAND

INCENTIVES PROMPT FISHERMEN TO RISK JAIL OVERSEAS FOR TERRITORIAL WATERS

VIOLATIONS

Bangkok BANGKOK POST in English 9 Sep 82 p 4

[Article by Nongnuth Kimanonth]

[Text ] DURING the last three years, 116

Thai trawlers — valued at more

than 400 million baht — were

seized for fishing in foreign

waters, according to Fisheries Department records.

The seizure of these boats reflects the serious problems being

faced by the fishing industry.

Figures provided by the Conservation and Extension Division of the

Fisheries Department show that foreign authorities this year confiscated

more than 35 Thai trawlers and

jailed more than 1,000 crewmen.

Thai fishing boats are normally

well equipped — containing radar,

sonar fish finders, freezer, and radio

transmitter and receiver —and are

capable of trawling in deep waters.

Of those seized only a few have been

returned, representing a huge loss to

the industry in terms of equipment

and investment.

The majority of Thai trawlers are

seized in Vietnamese waters. While

the number of crewmen arrested is

unknown, the Fisheries Department

reported this year alone the Vietnamese have already seized 17 Thai

trawlers.

"Most trawlers seized by the Vietnamese were confiscated. Somewere

returned in bad condition with their

engines and trawling equipment removed" Director-General of the Department of Fisheries Capt Sawang

Charoenpol RN said.

Records kept by the Samut Sakhon

i Fishing Cooperatives, show that

about 100 Thai trawler crewmen

have been shot dead in the past seven

years for allegedly trespassing into

Vietnamese territorial waters.

A recent case occurred last May

when a Thai vessel was fired on

while fishing illegally in Indonesian

waters. Four Thai crewmen were

injured.

Informed Foreign Ministry and

Fisheries Department sources disclosed that there were many unrecorded arrests, property seizures or

deaths because of the action which

foreign authorities had taken against

Thai trawlers operating in their territorial waters.

Vietnam, Kampuchea, Malaysia,

Indonesia, Burma, and India have

jailed the crews of Thai boats which

intruded into their waters, a Foreign

Ministry official said.

The crewmen invariably claim that

the intrusion was unintentional.

They say that as there are no demarcation lines at sea, it is difficult for

rthem to tell when they may have

crossed into territorial waters. This

pis despite most deep-sea trawlers

carrying expensive navigating equipment.

Nonetheless, there have been

several cases where the trespassing

appears to have been intentional.

Most intruders seem to realise that

they will be punished for intruding

foreign waters. But neither the risk

of death nor a long term in a foreign

jail seems to deter them from trawling in foreign waters.

One reason is the problem of depleting marine resources in Thai

waters — and a major contributing

factor behind the destruction of the

marine environment is pollution.

Capt Sawang said that there are

more than 1,800 factories operating

along the Chao Phya River from

18
Ayutthaya to Samut Prakan — all

dumping their waste in the river.

The waste flows into the Gulf of

Thailand and the result is a marine

environment as barren as a desert.

INCOMPARABLE

According to a group of fishermen

in Rayong Province fishing in foreign

waters is a favourable risk. The

income they can get between fishing

in Thai waters and foreign waters is

incomparable. They said that fishing

in Thai waters would earn them

about 300,000 baht a trip while a

similar excursion into foreign waters

could earn them up to two million

baht.

In Vietnamese national waters

Thai trawlers seem to get a better

deal. The Thai fishermen know the

Vietnamese need to buy some food

such as rice or even steel and gas. So

there is a compromise. The Thais sell

them smuggled products in exchange

for right to fish temporarily in their

waters.

"This has been going on for a long

time, and the Thai coastal authorities are aware of it," Capt Sawang

said.

"Thematterconcernsusfornational

security reasons and effective control

needed to be taken.

" However, it's difficult for the time

being to keep an eye on everything

happening in foreign waters, especially when we have a limited number of patrol boats to guard our

national waters," Capt Sawang said.

Another matter concerns the introduction of 200-mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Neighbouring

states' claims on the EEZ reversed

some areas in the South China Sea,

Andaman Sea, and the Indian Ocean

—which were once identified as international waters — to the areas under

exclusive rights of coastal states to

, exercise their jurisdiction over resource exploitation.

The problem is that EEZs do not

benefit the Thais. Thailand's geographical position— with itsmaritime

border next to other coastal states —

makes it impossible to extend an

economic zone to 200 miles either in

the East where the widest part of the

Gulf of Thailand is only 120 nautical

miles, or in the Andaman Sea of the

West where the width of the coast

'can be extended to only 160 nautical

miles at most owing to Burmese

territorial claims.

However, Thailand announced an

extension of its economic zone to 200

miles in February, 1981; ever since

the new law become applicable to the

Thais.

An expert in international law at

Chulalongkorn University Dr Niphan Jittasombat said that EEZ

claims by Thailand, Vietnam, and

Kampuchea in the South China Sea

overlap and the issues have not been

settled.

In the case of overlapping claims,

the new law of the sea provided that

the EEZ may be divided equally

through agreement between the

countries concerned, he said.

The effect of economic zones are

various. It accounts for Thailand's

loss of about 300,000-square miles of

fishing areas — lying offthe coasts of

Vietnam, Kampuchea, Burma, and

Malaysia — where the area used to

provide 40% of the country's catches

which contributed to more than 4

billion baht to the country's annual

. income.

Recent figures show the country's

marine products in the last three

years has been decreased from 2.3 to

1.9 million metric tons worth 10

billion baht. The decrease has consequently effected a slump in export

value of marine products to six billion baht during that period.

Another obvious effect, as Capt

Sawang said, is the breach of regulation on 3,000 metre off-shore limits

for fishing in the Gulf. As EEZ claims

have been enforced, a number ofThai

trawlers turned to fish inshore where

small fish live.

"And if our fishermen still illegally use dynamite or very fine mesh

nets in fishing, the fish we have in

the Gulf will deplete in the next few

years," he said.

So what is the solution?

The Government is implementing

a plan for fishery development to

promote inland fishery and fish

breeding in villages, schools, temples, and rice paddies.

The Department of Fisheries is

also considering the introduction of

flushing fisheries to help increase

fish in the rivers.

With the assistance of the Tokyo

Rayon Company about four million

fingerlings will be dumped in the

source ofthe rivers atPhichitProvince

tomorrow. In this way, fish will

spread out into rivers and klongs,

Capt Sawang said.

As for deep water fisheries, the

Government should push to reach a

joint fisheries agreement with our

neighbouring countries to operate

19
CSO: 5200/4301

fishing in the form ofjoint ventures.

So far Thailand has had joint fishery

pacts with a number of countries like

China, Oman, and Malaysia while a

joint agreement with India is expected sometime this year.

Dr Niphan also suggested a joint

agreement among ASEAN countries

to share natural resource exploitation in member countries' economic

zones. This can be done in various

forms, joint ventures with profit

sharing, or an application of preferential rights for member countries'

vessels to fish in one another's economic zones, he said.

Once inland fisheries are better

developed and fishery agreements

with neighbouring countries can be

negotiated, our fishermen may have

a better choice than adventuring in

foreign waters.

20
COMMITTEES WORK TO COUNTER OIL SPILLS IN LOCAL WATERS

Nassau THE TRIBUNE in English 24 Sep 82 p 11

BAHAMAS

[Text] THE BAHAMAS was among

other members of the

International Maritime

Organization (IMO) that

celebrated World Maritime Day

Thursday under the theme of

"Global Co-operation for the

prevention and Control of

Marine Pollution from Ships."

In an observance of World

Maritime Day, the Minister of

Transport, Phillip Bethel,

issued a press release in which

he said that the Bahamas was

"very concerned" about the

pollution of our waters caused

,.by oil and other pollution

caused by dumping garbage in

our waters.

j "Here in the Bahamas we are

fnot only concerned about

pollution of our waters caused

by oil, but being a well-known

tourist destination, Tourism

being our main industry, we

are also concerned about

pollution by the dumping of

garbage into our waters," Mr

Bethel said.

Mr Bethel said that this year

• the Boat Safety Committee has

launched a clean-up campaign

for the water fronts and the

beaches. And he said that an

Oil Spill Contingency Planning

Committee had already been

formed.

"It would appear," said Mr

Bethel, "that our average

Bahamian is not aware that to

toss cans and other items

into our waters is an illegal act

for which they can be

prosecuted, if caught," he said.

Mr Bethel also said that, the

Ministry, in its campaign to

promote the Bahamas as a

reputable ship registration

centrft»,-Äough its Maritime

Affairs Division, is involved in

the ' Workings of the

International Maritime

Organization.

"With the number of tankers

registered under the Bahamas

flag to date, it is important

that we keep abreast of the

many conventions, Resolutions

and Protocols that may come

into effect from time to time,"

Mr Bethel said.

Mr Bethel said that as

Minister responsible for

Maritime Affairs he feels the

theme for this World Maritime

Day was fitting.

"When, one considers the

tanker traffic in our waters

transporting oil and related

products to and from Borco

and Burmah Oil terminals in

Freeport, the Clifton Pier

facility in Nassau and indeed

those tankers that pass through

the shipping lanes on their way

to other foreign ports -

pollution is very real," Mr

Bethel said.

Mr Bethel said that so far

the Bahamas has been lucky

because apart from the

intermittent oil slicks, we have

had no major spills.

"The occasion of World

Maritime Day gives us the

opportunity to reflect and

restate our goals. It is the

Ministry's pledge that in spite

of our limited financial

resources we intend to do all

we can through "Global

Co-operation" to prevent and

control marine pollution from

ships in Bahamian and

international waters," he said.

CSO: 5200/7504

21
SEYCHELLES

ACTION PLAN DRAWN UP TO PROTECT OUR SEA RESOURCES

Victoria NATION in English 1 Oct 82 pp 2, 10

[Text] A FAR-REACHING action plan

to develop and protect the

sea and coast resources of

the East African region was

agreed on yesterday at the

end of a week-long meeting

in Seychelles.

The draft plan is expected

to be formally adopted by the

eight countries of the region

next year, and the Seychelles

Government has offered to

host the final meeting.

The offer was made by

Planning and Development

Minister Dr. Maximes Ferrari

in his closing speech to the

regional workshop sponsored

by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

at the Reef Hotel.

Dr. Ferrari said he was delighted to see the draft action plan approved since it

provided the right kind of

framework for the region's

governments to work together

in defence of the environment.

Seychelles felt that environmental assessment was particularly important, not only for

itself but for the whole region, and was pleased to see

that the plan laid so much

stress on this point.

Unless the nations of the

region carried out studies i"o

provide a basis of facts for

improved management of the

environment, they risked

wasting precious resources

on projects that had been

badly drawn up, Dr. Ferrari

added.

He thanked UNEP, and especially its Regional Seas

Programme, for their help in

bringing together the countries that will carry out the

East African action plan.

Together they would

achieve far more in marine

and coastal protection and

development of the region

than would have been possible as inividual states.

In a short closing address

Dr. Stjepan Keckes, Director

of the Regional Seas Programme, thanked the Seychelles Government for hosting what was such an important meeting.

UNEP, he said, was CQTI22
mitted to helping the countries of the region carry oui

the difficult task they had set

themselves in the wise management of their marine and

coastal resources.

The main components cf

the action plan are:

• Environmental assessment so as to gain a better

understanding u ine complex

links between development

and the environment. Tnis

will include pooling research

findings in the region, training marine scientists, setting

up "regional activity centres"

for specific studies and drawing up a list of pollution

sources.

O Environmental management for a sound na;ional

development that does not

destroy resources. Among the

mesures on which the

regional states will co-operate are preparing for pollution emergencies, drawing up

guidelines for controlling domestic, agricultural and industrial wastes, and the management of wildlife and natural

habitats.

• Environmental legislation, nor only in the strengthening of national laws but

in drawing up a regional convention for the protection and

development of the sea and

coast environment of the East

African region.

—Institutional and financial arrangements, which will include the setting up of a small central co-ordination unit to oversee the carrying out of

the action plan. Financial aid may come from the United Nations at first but

the countries involved should eventually finance the action plan themselves.

—Supporting measures, including training programmes for staff who will

carry out the plan, publicity campaigns to create public awareness of the issues at stake and education in schools on the principles of protection and

development of marine resources.

Dr. Ferrari also mentioned two important international conservation meetings

that will be held in Seychelles next year.

The Indian Ocean Alliance of some 20 ocean states, which was born as a result

of a meeting on Mahe in 1980, will convene here with the resoruces of the

Antarctic as a key theme.

And following a decision at this year's International Whaling Commission meeting, Seychelles will host a conference to discuss alternative uses of whales,

in particular for science and tourism, which do not involve killing these

animals.

Countries attending the workshop were Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania. Kenya and Mozambique sent their written approval of the draft action plan.

CSO: 5200/3

23
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

SWEDISH FISHERMEN ANGRY AT NORWAY FOR WARNING SHOTS IN ZONE

Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER in Swedish 4 Sep 82 p 11

[Article by Per Sjogren]

[Text] Sodertalje, Friday—Norwegians and civil servants were two groups targeted when the National Association of Professional Fishermen held its annual

meeting in Sodertalje on Friday. Minister of Agriculture Anders Dahlgren was

there and tried to calm the critics.

The criticism of Norway was based chiefly on an incident that occurred last summer when two Swedish fishing boats in the Norwegian economic zone were stopped

by warning shots and taken into port, where their crews received heavy fines.

Their offense consisted of not having their radio tuned to the prescribed channel.

The association's chairman, Jens Eriksson, who is also a member of Parliament

from Galto, said: "The dangers involved in the job itself are not enough—now

we are in danger of being shot at if we enter another country's territory. We

need to know clearly whether it is an offense to be in the Norwegian economic

zone."

The minister of agriculture agreed that the Norwegian Coast Guard had overreacted.

Dahlgren said: "Neighbors should not shoot at each other."

Others added that Norwegian authorities seem to be hopeless when it comes to

negotiating larger quotas for Sweden's west coast fishermen in Norwegian waters.

Price Dumping

One participant in the annual meeting said that civil servants have long and

pleasant vacations and that some of them arrange their vacations so they can

be free during the best fishing times. Then they go out fishing with professional equipment, not to meet their own needs but to sell their catch, thus

undercutting professional fishermen.

According to Eric B. Lundberg, the representative in Harmanger, Angermanland,

it is more likely that the people involved are former professional fishermen

2k
who have given up their trade but kept their equipment and still fish in that

way. It just sounds more dashing to talk about civil servants.

Boundary Issue

The unresolved boundary issue in the Baltic Sea was quite naturally on the

agenda. It involves the dispute between Sweden and the Soviet Union over an

area of 13,500 square kilometers east of Gotland. At present, any country can

fish there, and it was said that the area will soon be fished out. It would

be better if the area were designated a gray zone open only to Swedish and

Soviet fishermen.

The government was previously considering making concessions to the Soviet

Union, but at this meeting—and with the elections drawing near—the minister

of agriculture gave assurances that the government would not yield a single

nautical mile.

In round numbers, there are currently about 4,000 professional fishermen, and

fishing brings in about 500 million kronor per year. A major internal problem

is the marketing and distribution of fish. The organization that handles those

matters dates from the mid-1930's, and it is too cumbersome today. A new organization known as Swefisk has existed for the past year, but 17 cooperative and

private purchasers of landed fish do not participate, and the system is not

working well.

Chairman Jens Eriksson said: "If Swefisk is not going to work, we will have to

find something else."

11798

CSO: 5200/2502 END

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