076179

JPRS 82754

28 January 1983

Worldwide Report

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 218

ressSSr

FBIS FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE

5"
NOTE

JPRS publications contain information primarily from foreign

newspapers, periodicals and books, but also from news agency

transmissions and broadcasts. Materials from foreign-language

sources are translated; those from English-language sources

are transcribed or reprinted, with the original phrasing and

other characteristics retained.

Headlines, editorial reports, and material enclosed in brackets

[] are supplied by JPRS. Processing indicators such as [Text]

or [Excerpt] in the first line of each item, or following the

last line of a brief, indicate how the original information was

processed. Where no processing indicator is given, the information was summarized or extracted.

Unfamiliar names rendered phonetically or transliterated are

enclosed in parentheses. Words or names preceded by a question mark and enclosed in parentheses were not clear in the

original but have been supplied as appropriate in context.

Other unattributed parenthetical notes within the body of an

item originate with the source. Times within items are as

given by source.

The contents of this publication in no way represent the policies, views or attitudes of the U.S. Government.

PROCUREMENT OF PUBLICATIONS

JPRS publications may be ordered from the National Technical

Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161. In ordering, it is recommended that the JPRS number, title, date and

author, if applicable, of publication be cited.

Current JPRS publications are announced in Government Reports

Announcements issued semi-monthly by the National Technical

Information Service, and are listed in the Monthly Catalog of

U.S. Government Publications issued by the Superintendent of

Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402.

Correspondence pertaining to matters other than procurement

may be addressed to Joint Publications Research Service,

1000 North Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia 22201.
JPRS 82754

28 January 1983

WORLDWIDE REPORT

LAW OF THE SEA

No. 218

CONTENTS

ASIA

INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

Indonesian Ship Fires at Thai Fishing Vessel

(AFP, 30 Dec 82) 1

NEW ZEALAND

Paper Terms UN LOS Conference Both Triumph, Failures

(Editorial; THE PRESS, 8 Dec 82) 2

PHILIPPINES

Serious Law of Sea Implications Noted

(Pal L. Ravina; BULLETIN TODAY, 3 Jan 83) 3

LATIN AMERICA

BARBADOS

Tull Voices Objection to LOS Treaty, U.S. Failure To Sign

(ADVOCATE-NEWS, 11 Dec 82) *+

Consequences of Law of Sea Convention Assessed

(0 GL0B0, i+, 5 Jan 83; 0 ESTADO DE SAO PAULO, 7 Jan 83) 5

Brazilian Rights Extended

Brazil Approves 12-Mile Limit

Report Analyzes Conference

Navy To Purchase Research Vessel

PANAMA

Treaty With Costa Rica: Ratification Instruments Exchanged

(LA ESTRELLA DE PANAMA, 16 Dec 82) . 10

-a - [III - WW - 136]
SUB-SAHARAN AFEICA

INTER-AFRICAN AFFAIRS

'Promising' SWIO Regional Cooperation Described

(Rene Morel; NATION, 6 Jan 83) .. . . Ik

SEYCHELLES

Fishing Co-Operation With Mauritius Intensified

(NATION, 21 Dec 82) 19

Reportage on SWIO Traditional Fisheries Meetings

(NATION, 11, I**, 18 Dec 82) 21

FAO Sponsored

Small-Scale Fishing

Joint Action Proposed

SOUTH AFRICA

Ministry Measures To Control Fishing Criticized

(THE STAR, 9 Dec 82) 26

WEST EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Denmark's Dispute With EC Could Hurt Swedish Fishermen

(Ake Ringberg; DAGENS NYHETER, 13 Dec 82) 28

Paper Criticizes Danish Handling of Dispute With FRG

(Editorial; GR0WLANDSPOSTEN, 8 Dec 82). ,. 29

Greenland Premier Claims Denmark Allows FRG Illegal Fishing

(GR0NLANDSPOSTEN, 8 :Dee 82.) 30

Danish Minister Hits British Threat To Seize Fishing Boats

(Klaus Justesen; BERLINGSKE TIDENDE, 22 Dec 82). . 32

Danish Prime Minister Discusses Fishing Ties With EC, Norway

(Michael Ehrenreich.;. BERLINGSKE TIDENDE, 22 Dec 82) . 3k

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

EC Official Sees LOS Conflicting With European Interests

(Karl-Heinz Narjes Interview; WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE, 3 Dec 82) ... . 36

FRANCE

Sea Policy as Shown in 198*1-1988 Plan Examined -

(Joseph Martray; LA NÖUVELLE REVUE MARITIME, Nov 82) 38

- "b -
SPAIN

Fishing Disputes, Incidents With Morocco

(Alfredo Semprum Guillen; ABC, 6 Dec 82) k2

TUEKEY

Duty Setting for Straits Passage Discussed

(Tahir Caga Interview; MILLIYET, 12 Dec 82) 1*5

c - .
INTER-ASIAN AFFAIRS

INDONESIAN SHIP FIRES AT THAI FISHING VESSEL

BK301539 Hong Kong AFP in English 0233 GMT 30.Dec 82

[Text] Jakarta, Dec 30 (AFP) — An Indonesian patrol ship opened fire at a Thai fishing vessel spotted fishing illegally in the East Sumateran waters, a navy spokesman

said today.

The vessel, [name indistinct] No. 0564, refused to stop on seeing the patrol ship a

few days ago in the Tanjung Mamiang Gulf, the spokesman said. The ship fired several

shots damaging the vessel's pillars and a mezzanine and forcing it to stop, he said.

The 17 crewmen and the skipper bunchu were detained for interrogation, he added.

The Indonesian Navy is stepping up patrol activities against foreign ships entering

and fishing illegally in Indonesian territorial waters, he warned.

CSO: 5200/4315
NEW ZEALAND

PAPER TERMS UN LOS CONFERENCE BOTH TRIUMPH, FAILURES

Christchurch THE PRESS in English 8 Dec 82 p 16

[Editorial: "Law of Sea or Jungle?"]

[Excerpts] The final session of the United Nations

Law of the Sea Conference represents both

a triumph and a failure. It- is a triumph

because most countries of the world have

managed to get together and work out a

set of rules under which they will conductthemselves in the sea and around the

coasts of their own and other countries.

The old system, based on a three-mile limit

which was related to the distance that a'

cannon ball could be fired, had to go some

time. New arms have made such

definitions redundant, growths in

population have made questions of

pollution more important, demand for

marine, resources has raised questions of

who owns the resources of the sea, and the

rise of more nation States has made issues

of passage through archipelagos

significant. It took about 10 years to find a

law that seemed acceptable. That was

done: The new Law of the Sea is likely to

be regarded as one of the great

achievements of the United Nations.

However, three of the most powerful

countries in the world, the United States,

Britain, and West Germany, will not sign

the treaty. The Soviet Union said that it

would not sip but changed its mind. Japan

will probably sign but, as one of the

countries which has come under intense

pressure from the United States, will

probably not sign immediately to avoid

seeming to challenge the view of the

United States on the subject. When he was

in Japan recently the American Secretary

of Defence, Mr Weinberger, sought to have

Japan refuse to sign. In true Japanese

fashion a decent interval will probably be

allowed to pass before Japan puts its

signature on the treaty and ratifies it.

The United States is opposed mostly to

the provisions about mining of the deep

seabed. This is the area outside the

jurisdiction of States which have coastlines.

The Law of the Sea Conference hoped to

set up a system under which both private

companies and an international body would

be permitted to mine the deep seabed. The

United States did not like the provision

that it would be incumbent on private

companies to make their expertise in

technology available for the international

body. Mining of the deep seabed was only

one element in the new Law of the Sea and

there was difference of opinion among

American Government departments as

well as in the commercial world about the

refusal to sign. Some advantage is

obviously to be gained by the Defence

Department, and to departments concerned

with international trade, if an international

treaty allows the passage of ships through

straits.

The argument raised again and again

through the long years of negotiation of the

Law of the Sea was that if a new law were

not concluded there was a chance that a

law of the jungle would result. Those

countries with the ability to hunt in certain

areas whether for fish or minerals would

be able to do so if they also had the might

to stop anyone stopping them.

After the final session the answer is

not at all clear. The three countries which

have said that they will not sign are three

of the four which actually have the

technology to mine minerals from the deep

seabed. Japan is the fourth.

The achievement of establishing a new

Law of the Sea holds within it the seeds of

failure that is more than simply an

inability to agree on the subject but is a

threat to the international rule of law.

CSO: 5200/9114
PHILIPPINES

SERIOUS LAW OF SEA IMPLICATIONS NOTED

Manila BULLETIN TODAY in English 3 Jan 83 p 24

[Article by Pal L. Ravina]

[Text]

A top ranking official of the Maritime

Industry Authority

(Marina) reported

yesterday provisions of

the Law of the Sea

Convention of the United Nations which

have serious implications on the security of

signatory countries

like the Philippines.

The Convention,

signed by the Philippines last month, providesa legal

framework for the

establishment of an

orderly ocean regime,

delineates jurisdictional regimes such as

archipelagic waters,

territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive

economic zone, high

seas, etc., defines the

rights and obligations

of signatory states and

provides an international machinery for

the settlement of disputes between or

among nations.

P. Vergel de Dios,

Jr., Marina chief legal

counsel, said that

while Article 5 of the

Convention provides

that the archipelagic;

state has sovereignty

over its archipelagic

waters, it is not really i

so considering that the

designation ofsealanes

where foreign ships

may exercise the right

of archipelagic sealanes passage,, like

transit passage, is subject to the approvalIjy

"competent international organization."

. He said the Convention's regime of

archipelagic sealanes

passage is a far departure from the original

concept" of the

archipelagic doctrine,

i.e., that waters enclosed by the baselines

of any state are internal waters and that

foreign ships can only

pass through with the

consent of-the said

He said sealanes

passage in the 200-

mile archipelagic waters zone cannot be

suspended even for

security reasons and

foreign ships are

allowed to navigate in

the normal mode. This

means that submarines are serious

problem to the security

of the signatory state

like the Philippines

which has limited naval equipment to monitor and control the

movement of seacraft,

he said.

According to De

Dios, sealanes passage

of foreign vessels in

the 12-mile territorial

sea belt outside the

archipelagic waters

can be suspended for

security reasons

(which poses less

security problem because of its distance)

and submarines cannot

navigate-in the normal'

mode or underwater

but have to surface to

show their flags. .

"And while the coastal state may designate

sealanes and prescribe

traffic separation

schemes where foreign

vessels may exercise

their right of innocent

passage because of limited naval capability

of the Philippine government, it would be

difficult to enforce our

laws thereon," he said.

De Dios said the

security problem is

compounded by the

fact that warships of

different nations are

granted the right of innocent passage.

He said the right of

innocent passage in

archipelagic waters except in archipelagic

sealanes may be suspended for security

reasons as provided for

in Article 52 of the

Convention but it is

not clear where in the

archipelagic waters'

this right is exercised

and this needs clarification, he said.

He said other provisions ofthe Convention

like shipping and other

economic features like

mining and exploration of the living and

non-living resources of

the various ocean regimes are all favorable

to the Philippines.

CSO: 5200/4314
COUNTRY SECTION BARBADOS

TULL VOICES OBJECTION TO LOS TREATY, U.S. FAILURE TO SIGN

Bridgetown ADVOCATE-NEWS in English 11 Dec 82 p 1

[Excerpts] Montego Bay, Jamaica, Friday (CANA)--Barbados has expressed

concern that the new United Nations Law of the Sea Convention being signed

here today does not provide for foreign ships to seek permission from a

coastal state to pass through its territorial waters.

Barbados* Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General, Louis Tull,

said the fact that this provision was not approved by the conference was

a concern "especially as our domestic legislation enacts a similar provision."

Barbados said while it was satisfied with the adoption of the Convention

at the 11th session it regretted that only two of the major industrialised

countries voted in favour of its adoption.

Commenting on the refusal of Britain and the U.S. to sign the Convention,

the Barbados Foreign Minister said: "Some of those countries are pione rs

in the field of deep sea mining technology. It is the view of my delegation

that the participation of the industrialised countries would facilitate

implementation of the provisions relating to deep sea mining. We would hope

that by the time the Convention comes into force, that they would see it

fit to participate."

He said that the rule of law must be applicable to international law no

less than to municipal law. "This implies clear and defined jurisdictions

certainly, and equal and universal application. For states to opt out of

the Convention and to pursue bilateral and parallel arrangements is to

affect the integrity of the new regime. This would be a threat to international peace and security," Mr Tull said.

Mr Tull said the Convention was a superb achievement for international

cooperation. ".'

CSO: 3298/252
BRAZIL

CONSEQUENCES OF LAW OF SEA CONVENTION ASSESSED

Brazilian Rights Extended

Rio de Janeiro 0 GLOBO in Portuguese 5 Jan 83 p 16

[Text] Brasilia—Brazilian sovereignty, for the purposes of exploiting oil at

sea, was extended from 200 miles to 350 miles by the Law of the Sea Convention,

which was approved by the United Nations and was announced in Brasilia yesterday by naval advisers. The convention will be submitted to the national congress by the office of the president of the republic for ratification, accompanied by the report of the Brazilian delegation.

According to the convention, Brazil will return to the 12-mile maritime territorial limit, but will have economic sovereignty over an exclusive economic

zone of 188 miles. Within the 200-350 mile band, the country will enjoy

economic sovereignty over nonliving resources, such as oil. The juridical

formula created by the convention is that of "economic sovereignty."

According to the convention, Brazilian interests are guaranteed in two maritime

areas with geological formations indicating the probable presence of oil—the

Sao Paulo plateau and the Amazonas cone—where prospecting is likely to produce

favorable results.

The Vote

This convention was approved in the United Nations by a vote of 130 to 4, with

17 abstentions. The nations abstaining were Venezuela, which has boundary

problems with Colombia; Turkey, also because of boundary disputes with Greece;

Israel, because the Palestine Liberation Organization was allowed to attend the

conference as an observer; and the United States, which placed restrictions on

the document, claiming that some aspects of it were contrary to its interests

and those of some developed countries in the maritime mining sector.

At least 50 of the nations which approved the document must ratify it, for this

convention to go into effect. The committee which drafted the convention will

meet next 15 March in Kingston, Jamaica, to prepare for the entry of the treaty

into effect.

According to Brazilian observers, the Convention on the Law of the Sea proposes

a new international economic order, in which the poor nations, and in
particular, the developing nations, will have a guarantee that their interests

will be safeguarded on the seas and oceans.

Brazil's Option

One of the members of the Brazilian delegation, Cmdr Hermes Eduardo Moreira,

analyzed the results of the Conference on the Law of the Sea in a study for the

REVISTA MARITIMA BRASILEIRA, a periodical with restricted circulation. According to the article, the new convention means that Brazil "will exchange a

territorial limit of 200 maritime miles, with all the advantages sovereignty

over such a broad area offers, although it is based on a legal instrument of

doubtful value—a unilateral act, for a less extensive territorial area of 12

maritime miles, plus an exclusive economic zone of 188 maritime miles, wherein

it will have economic sovereignty over all the living and nonliving resources

found there, plus a juridical continental shelf which, in the case of Brazil,

may be extended up to 350 maritime miles, wherein it will have, beyond the 200

mile line, sovereignty over all the nonliving resources and certain sedentary

living species (shrimp, lobster)."

Fishing Rights

The chief of the Navy General Staff (EMA), Adm Jose Albano da Aratanha, said

yesterday that the return to the 12-mile maritime territorial limit does not

mean any loss for Brazil, because its economic interests are safeguarded, and

it is better for the country to go along with the international consensus.

The admiral regards the guarantee of economic sovereignty over 188 miles and

the further possibility of a guarantee of sovereignty of up to 350 miles for

resources such as oil as important.

"Brazil adopted the 200-mile maritime territorial limit in 1970, in order to

guarantee its economic interests. The new Brazilian position, incorporated in

the convention and dependent on congressional ratification, has the support of

130 nations."

Naval Research Vessel

The navy will need a research vessel to survey the Brazilian continental shelf

with a view to a precise definition of the limits of sovereignty for the

exploitation of offshore oil.

A Japanese group has already proposed one vessel, but its purchase is subject

to an economic viability study being made by the Ministry of Planning. If the

purchase of this vessel is not authorized, the navy will have to seek another

alternative.

117 Countries Sign

Brazil was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Law of the

Sea, which will guarantee its territorial sovereignty over 12 miles, and in
some cases, almost 350 miles, as an exclusive economic zone. The signing of

the convention began last 9 December, and to date, 117 countries have already

endorsed the text, which was the product of a decade of discussion among the

countries.

In signing the convention, Brazil agrees to maritime territorial waters of only

12 miles instead of 200, as provided for by Decree Law 1098 dated 25 March

1970. However, these new categories have been regarded as a victory for the

countries which, like Brazil, sought control of a larger maritime area than the

developed countries, such as the United States, would agree to.

Brazil will have almost absolute sovereignty over the 12 miles of territorial

seas. In the exclusive economic zone, the country will have control of fishing, scientific research and any other type of economic exploration, but there

will be freer international navigation than within the 12-mile limit.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea recognizes the sovereign rights of the

coastal nation over its continental shelf beyond the 200-mile limit and to the

outer boundary of the shelf. The criteria for the definition of this boundary

will be very specific and technical, involving such data as sediment thickness

and others. In the case of Brazil, at some points along the coast this shelf

extends to 350 miles, and for this reason, the exclusive economic zone of

Brazil exceeds the planned 200 miles.

While in Montego Bay, Jamaica, for the signing of the convention, the head of

the Brazilian delegation, Ambassador Thompson Flores, stressed the position of

the government to the effect that the navigational rights attributed by the

convention to third nations in the exclusive economic zone of a country—

between 12 and 200 miles—cannot under any circumstances be used for military

exercises or maneuvers without the prior knowledge and consent of the coastal

nation.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea will go into effect 1 year after the

ratification of the document by at least 60 nations. The United States has not

signed. The Carter government had approved its terms, but the Reagan government changed tack and refused to sign.

Brazil Approves 12-Mile Limit

Rio de Janeiro 0 GLOBO in Portuguese 4 Jan 83 p 4

[Text] The Brazilian government has already approved the concept of the 12-

mile maritime territorial limit and the exclusive economic zone established by

consensus at the Conference on the Law of the Sea sponsored by the United

Nations organization. The study on the new Brazilian position is being made by

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will, in due course, be submitted to

President Figueiredo, according to a representative of the admiralty who discussed the new Brazilian position yesterday. The navy has already officially

accepted the change, leaving official approval up to the Itamaraty Palace.
The admiral said that one cannot speak of national security at present, on the

basis of the demarkation of a territorial limit of 12 or 200 miles, in view of

the existence of long-range missiles. He said that the main thing is to

develop a doctrine and the resources for security and to guarantee sovereignty

over the economic resources to be found on the continental shelf.

The admiralty representative stressed that territorial limits were discussed in

the past in terms of maximal weapons range, but the old guns have today been

bypassed by the much more sophisticated missile technology. For this very

reason, the navy, as an institution responsible for the formulation of

Brazilian naval power, is not opposed to the reduction of the territorial seas.

The navy has never been in a position to exercise supervision consistent with

territorial waters extending 200 miles, and according to the assessment made,

it would need 10 times its resources to carry out such a task.

The concept of reduction in the territorial waters represents an international

victory for the United States, which would never accept the decision of certain

countries such as Brazil, and which, in reality, never succeeded in achieving

an international consensus.

There are, however, differences between the position of the United States and

that of other countries with regard to the use of the economic resources at the

bottom of the sea, but these differences are not so great as those on the

territorial waters issue.

Report Analyzes Conference

Sao Paulo 0 ESTADO DE SAO PAULO in Portuguese 7 January 83 p 5

[Text] The pursuit of more intensive research and exploration activities with

regard to marine resources, in order to guarantee the use of "sovereign rights"

over the resources existing in the territorial waters within the exclusive

188-mile economic zone and on the continental shelf, is one of the suggestions

submitted to the navy in a document analyzing the results of the Conference on

the Law of the Sea held under the auspices of the United Nations organization

last year.

This document, drafted by an official who participated in the conference, and

which has already been submitted to naval authorities, analyzed the implications of the results produced by the conference, at which the participating

nations approved a new international convention on maritime rights, providing

for an area of up to 350 maritime miles—as in the Brazilian case—as the

jurisdiction of the riparian nation, with an 188-mile area as an "exclusive

economic exploitation zone" and a territorial limit of 12 miles.

The ratification of this convention by Brazil still depends on the congress,

but the naval report takes up the issue of the 200-mile limit adopted by the

Brazilian government as a "juridical instrument of doubtful value," since it

was not accepted by the participants in the conference.
The document comments that, by signing the new convention, the signatory

nations obtain an exclusive economic zone of 188 maritime miles, in which they

will have "economic sovereignty" over all living and nonliving resources to be

found there; a juridical continental shelf—which in the case of Brazil may

extend up to 350 maritime miles; and the right to participate in all mining

activities undertaken by international enterprises on the marine and ocean

bottoms.

Apart from the pursuit of research, the report suggests that Brazil needs to

increase its naval resources for purposes of making the exercise of naval

policing and coastal patrolling viable, maintaining further that "the extent of

the maritime area under national jurisdiction does not alter the mission and

tasks undertaken by the navy."

The report says that the Brazilian delegation did not, at the conference,

formally abandon the country's position as a "territorialist" nation, but

merely adopted an informal position for negotiation, working "toward acceptance

of the validity and usefulness of a universal convention, and thus surrendering

the right to a sovereign area of 188 maritime miles" in exchange for "rights

and sovereignty" in the economic sector over a maritime area of similar extent.

Navy To Purchase Research Vessel

Sao Paulo 0 ESTADO DE SAO PAULO in Portuguese 7 Jan 83 p 5

[Text] Within the next few days, the navy will submit to the Planning Secretariat (SEPLAN) of the presidency of the republic the offers it has received to

date in connection with the proposed purchase of a research vessel to be used

for the demarkation of the exclusive 188-mile economic zone along the coast

which, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, each nation

has the right to exploit.

According to a statement made by Adm Eduardo da Silva Fonseca Maximiano, the

naval minister, the navy has selected four offers of vessels for oceanographic

use, from Japan, Denmark, Poland and Finland. Further, according to the minister, who did not reveal the amount of any of the offers, the vessel offering

the best conditions for purchase, given the Brazilian economic situation, is

that offered by Denmark. This vessel has already been built, requiring only

modifications, while the others would have to be built. Minister Maximiano

added that the navy needs a vessel exclusively for research purposes, and one

capable of performing such tasks in the antarctic as well. He commented that

the'Barao de Teffe, which has already proceeded to the southern continent, is a

support, rather than a research, vessel.

5157

CSO: 5200/2010
PANAMA

TREATY WITH COSTA RICA: RATIFICATION INSTRUMENTS EXCHANGED

Panama City LA ESTRELLA DE PANAMA in Spanish 16 Dec 82 p C-3

[Text] There was an exchange of ratification instruments on December 1^, 1982,

at the Foreign Ministry on the treaty for the delimitation of maritime areas

and maritime cooperation between Panama and Costa Rica, which was signed in

February 1980.

The ceremony, which began at 4:00 pm in the Ricardo J. Alfaro Room of the

Foreign Ministry was attended by the minister of foreign relations, Juan Jose

Amado, III, and the ambassador of the sister republic of Costa Rica in Panama,

Enrique Munoz Fonseca.

The treaty on the delimitation of maritime areas and maritime cooperation

between the two nations determines the limits of their respective marine

areas, sets up steps to be taken to develop cooperation for the protection

of renewable and nonrenewable resources within the marine areas and provides

for international cooperation and the coordination of conservation measures

in maritime areas, while recognizing the sovereign right of each nation to

adopt pertinent rules and regulations within its respective jurisdiction.

The Exchange Formalities

In the City of Panama, capital of the Republic of Panama, on the 14th day of

December, 1982, at the Foreign Ministry, His Excellency Jüan Jose Amado, III,

minister of foreign relations of Panama, and His Excellency Enrique Munoz

Fonseca, extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Costa Rica in Panama,

met with the object of exchanging ratification instruments for the Treaty

on the Delimitation of Maritime Areas and Maritime Cooperation between the

Republic of Panama and the Republic of Costa Rica, which was signed at San

Jose, Costa Rica, on February 2, 1980.

The ambassadors, after verifying the authenticity and accuracy of the respective

ratification instruments, proceeded to make the exchange, as provided for in

Article IX of the treaty.

10
In virtue of which the following affix their signatures to this document, in

two exact copies, both of which are equally valid:

For the Republic of Costa Rica:

Enrique Munoz Fonseca.

I

For the Republic of Panama:

Juan Jose Amad.o, III

Treaty on the Delimitation of Maritime Areas and for Maritime Cooperation

the Republic of Panama and the Republic of Costa Rica

The Republic of Panama and the Republic of Costa Rica, convinced that cooperation

constitutes the most efficacious means for resolving matters of mutual interest

between nations, and especially where ties of geographical proximity exist:

Conscious of the convenience and necessity of proceeding to delimit their

maritime areas in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean;

Aware of the necessity of safeguarding the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the maritime areas belonging to each country as well as

free and rapid communication within them;

Mutually interested in the adoption of appropriate measurers for

the preservation, conservation, and Use of existing resources in

these areas, and in order to prevent, control, and eliminate their

pollution;

Having resolved to celebrate a Treaty to that effect, hereby designate

their plenipotentaries, as follows: '

The Most Excellent President of the Republic of Panama names His Excellency

Carlos Ozores Typaldos, minister of foreign relations [sic].

The Most Excellent President of the Republic of Costa Rica names His Excellency

Rafael Angel Calderon Founier, minister of foreign relations.

ARTICLE I

To establish the following boundaries as the limits of their respective maritime

areas

a. Caribbean Sea (1)

b. Pacific Ocean (2)

11
(1) In the Caribbean Sea: the median line whose points are all equidistant

from the points nearest the base lines where the width of the territorial

waters'of each nation is measured from, according to Public International

Rights, from the end of the terrestrial boundary between both countries at

a point located at the mouth of the Sixaola River, latitude 09° 34' 16" North,

lo gitude 82° 34"' 00" West, where the boundaries of Costa Rica, Colombia,

and Panama intersect,

(2) In the Pacific Ocean: The median line whose points are all equidistant

from the points nearest the base lines where the width of the territorial'waters

of each nation is measured from, according to Public International Rights,

the boundary between the maritime areas of both countries will be a line

starting from the southern end of the terrestrial boundary at Punta Burica

ascending to a point along the parallel 05° 00' 00" North and longitude 84°

19' 00" West of Greenwich.

PARAGRAPH: The lines and points agreed on are set forth on the nautical

charts which are signed by the plenipotentiaries" aid attached to this Treaty

as an appendix, it being agreed that in any case the tenor of this Treaty

will prevail.

ARTICLE II

To accept and respect the measures by which each nation exercises at present

or may exercise in the future its sovereignty, jurisdiction, vigilance, control,

or rights in the maritime areas adjacent to its coasts, delineated by virtue

of this Treaty, in conformance with what each country has established or may

establish in the future and under the regulations appropriate to its domestic

laws.

ARTICLE III

The Republic of Panama, considering it of great importance that the Republic

of Costa Rica Expressly recognize the character of Historic May in the Great

Gulf of Panama, has requested such recognition from Costa Rica.

The Republic of Costa Rica, aware that its express recognition of the character

of Historic Bay in the Great Gulf of Panama is of great importance for the

incontestability of said character declares that it does not object to the

determination made to this respect by the Republic of Panama by means of its

Law Number Nine of January 30, 1956.

ARTICLE IV

To develop the broadest cooperation between the parties for the protection

of renewable and nonrenewable resources within the maritime areas over which

they exercise or may in the future exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or

vigilance and to use such resources for the benefit of their respective countries.

12
ARTICLE V

Promote the broadest international cooperation to coordinate the conservation

measures that each nation may apply in maritime zones under its sovereignty

or jurisdiction, particularly with reference to species that migrate from

outside of their respective maritime areas, taking into account recommendations

made by competent organizations and the most accurate and up-to-date scientific

data. Such international cooperation shall not diminish the sovereign right of

each nation to adopt norms and regulations it judges pertinent within the area

of its respective jurisdiction.

ARTICLE VI

To mutually lend all available facilities for the purpose of developing the

exploitation and utilization of live resources in their respective maritime

areas.

ARTICLE VII

Both parties will cooperate with the other to the best of their ability in

applying the most suitable methods to impede, reduce, and control the pollution

of the maritime areas that affect the neighboring nation, whatever the cause

may be, for which they will coordinate their efforts, to the extent possible,

in accordance with domestic laws.

ARTICLE VIII

Promote the broadest possible cooperation to encourage the rapid movement of

international navigation in the seas that come under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of each nation.

ARTICLE IX

This Treaty will be submitted to the constitutional process of the contracting

parties for ratification and will enter into force upon the exchange of

ratification instruments. This ceremony will take place in Panama City.

In virtue of which the plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty in two copies

in the Spanish language, both texts being authentic, in the city of San Jose

on the 2nd of February. 1980. .

For the Government of the Republic of Panama For the Government of the

Republic of Costa Rica

9015

CSO: 5200/2009

13
INTER-AFRICAN AFFAIRS

'PROMISING1SWIO REGIONAL COOPERATION DESCRIBED

Victoria NATION in English 6 Jan 83 pp 4-7

[Article by Rene Morel]

[Text]

EIGHT countries of the South

West Indian Ocean are mesh,

ed together in a United Nations Food and Agriculture

(FAO)-sponsored project to

enable them to derive the maximum economic benefits

from the&r maritime resources.

Four times in the last TOUI

months, representatives from

the Comoros, Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and

Tanzania, all members of the

SWIO Fisheries Development

and Management Project set

up two years ago, met again

to draw the Wnes for cooperation among themselves in

the field of fisheries.

Observers here at the neaaquarters of the project have

noted, from the delegates' desire to coordinate the fishing

activities in the region, that

the countnies of the South

West Indian Ocean are wel/

on the way to unfolding a

good example of South-South

cooperation.

These littoral stares, afthough they share the poorest fish stocks in all of Africa,

want to improve the lives of

their fishermen, at the same

time conserving the stocks

they have and protecting the

resources from poachers.

Commenting on this cooperation scheme, the project's

director, Mauritian-born David

Ardill, said: "Member countries wishing to develop their

fisheries could benefit from

the experiences acquired by

other nations without starting

from zero".

To countries like Seychelles, fisheries have always

been regarded as the most

important natural resources

for the country's economic

development, although this

Has yet jo prove, its worth as

a good source of foreign exchange. No other, country in

the SWIO exportsTish, except

for Mauritius which possesses

a cannery. Only Seychelles,

with 65,000 people, has been

lU
able to saturate its home

market, thus assuring the population of a high source of

protein in their diet.

Kenya gets two-thirds of

its fish supplies from freshwater and as for the other

countries, the traditional fish,

ermen are just not landing

enough to supplement food

supplies.

Of the 60 million people inhabiting the region, there are

100,000 who depend on fishing for their daily lives whereas the average production of

each of these fishermen is a

little over a tonne a year.

inadequate

Said ivir. Hoben ürandcourt,

trie Seycneilois principal Secretary tor Planning in tne

Ministry of Manning and External Hemtions, at the opening of one of two seminars

here in December: "This is

grossly inadequate either to

ensure a decent living or to

meet the minimum protein requirements of their people."

Most of the SWIO fishermen have for years been employing artisanal methods to

catch the fish: that is when

the weather is good, they roll

their pirogues or whaleboats

down the beaches and go a

short distance from shore to

fish with hand lines, traps or

small beach seine. In some

areas along the shores of

these countries, the stocks

have been over-exploited

while other richer areas cannot be reached either because the boats are not seaworthy to make long trips or

the fishermen do not have the

incentive to bring back bigger catches.

In the case ofi Seychelles,

the Ministef-,*pr, Planning>pnä

xirne"ä^erra7i, was only too

happy last month to announce

to his country's traditional fishermen that the near-shore

stocks could yield 21,000 tonnes of pelagic fish annually—

which is good news to a nation landing only 6,000 tones a year. A big question that

was debated at the seminars

was how to dispose of these

bigger catches, especially

when the fish does not attract an international market.

Dr. Ferrari got this evaluation of Seychelles near-shore

stocks of pelagic fish from a

group of West German scientists who had been conducting a two-year joint research

project around the islands.

Such research programmes

were other topics discussed

at the SWIO seminars for cooperation purposes.

Although they are sharing

the poorest fish stocks in

Africa, the fishermen of the

SWIO region could still increase their catches eight

times, provided they acquire

the simple but reliable technology to enable them to

reach unexploited banks far

away from shore where the

stocks are falling prey to

poachers.

It has been estimated that

the region could yield a little

over a million tonnes of fish

15
annually compared \ tö the

1 töflöd tonnes järth^H It present. This represents more

food to the people of the region, a higher standard of

living for the fishermen and a

source of foreign exchange to

\ countries producing enough

j for export.

| The Saya de Mal ha, shared

jbetweer Mauritius and Seychelles, is one such fishing

: bank promising good catches,

but it is very far from shore.

At the seminar in December

on traditional or small scale

fish'ng in the SWIO region,

delegates regarded the role of

the artisanal fishermen in developing their countries' fisheries as very important, to the

point of surpassing those of

the industrialised nations.

Proper vessels

The delegates discussed

the design of a proper type of

vessel that could reach further out but which, at the

| same time, could be easily

.operated by the fishermen at

a minimum cost. Delegates

considered a boat that could

be adapted throughout the rejgion, with the introduction of

! sails to reduce the cost of

!

fuel.

| According to Mr. Ardill, the

SWIO Project Director, if they

were proven reliable and satisfactory, such small vessels

could more efficient than bigger vessels operated by the

industrialised nations far

away from their shores.

The representatives of the

eight countries also think

that small boats costing collectively the same as one

large vessel will catch much

more fish, employ more people, have much lower operating costs and have less detrimental effects on the fishing

stocks and habitats.

Various types of fishing

boats currently in use throughout the region were studied to

find common adaptations.

An FAO offioial has predicted that by the year 2000,

such developing nations may

become the major exporters

of fish in the world as the

rising cost of operating big

vessels away from the shores

is preventing industrialised

nations from assembling big

fleets.

Research and studies conducted in the SWIO region

are advising against the use

of big purse seiners as these

could cause excessive exploitation of the resources.

Trawling is also not encouraged, again because of the

coral heads on the sea bed

and the danger of netting one

whole stock in one go.

By the time the current

which sweeps north across

the Indian Ocean reaches the

region, it has been rid of almost all of the nutrients the

fish require. It is only along

the ooast of Somalia that a

depression of the water brings

up additional nutrients from

the depths of the ocean.

"That is why Somalia and the

Seychelles, the latter lying at

16
the tail end of the Equatorial

counter current, are richer in

fish stocks than other countries in the South West Indian Ocean", explained Mr.

Ardill.

The water in the area is

however good for tourism.

"It gives clear water but is

not good for fishing," Mr. Ardill pointed out.

One of the greatest obstacles to the development of

fishing in the region has been

the shortage of fishing gear

supplies. Fishermen often

make their own woven traps

and nets if they can obtain

the thread, sinkers, crude

rope and floats. None of the

SWIO members is currently

earning as much from the

export of fish products as

they are paying out in foreign

exchange for the importation

of gear, fuel and equipment

for catching the fish.

Another problem discussed

by the SWIO delegates was

how to equip the traditional

fishermen with the means of

preserving their fish through,

out the long trip back to shore

and to markets in the hinterland.

At present, the fish is sold

straight : away after being

cäughtrirrrnany countries on

continental Africa no good facilities and proper road access

are available for quick transportation of the highly perishable commodity from the

shore to inland markets. The

SWIO countries are thinking

of the use of carrier vessels

with refrigerating facilities

that can keep the fish in good

state, until it reaches faraway markets.

Tuna fishing

' Apart from consolidating

the role of the traditional fishermen in their development

processes, most of the SWIO

countries have also shown

interest in tuna fisheries.

But the modern methods of

catching these fish, like the

pole and line and long liners,

are foreign to the fishermen

of tue region. Until the SWIO

nations are auie to acquire

) tue experiences or modern

; tuna tismng, they can only

I derive beneiits from that unexploited resource through licences given to foreign fleets.

At anytime during the good

season between September

ana April, there are about 80

ships fishing in the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone

alone.

The SWIO countries have

abundant stocks of mesopelai gic species which could yield

i between 70,000 and 75,000

! tonnes annually without any

problem, according to fishe7ies~experts, but no use hasl

yet been found for them as

*hey are unfit for human consumption and their conversion

into fish meal for animal

feeds is technically difficult

and expensive.

One seminar in September

was dedicated to the surveillance, management and con17
trol of the SWIO exclusive

economic zones. On these aspects, the SWIO members are

studying the experiences of

Seychelles which is managing

and patrolling its vast 800,000

square kilometres of exclusive

economic zone. Seychelles

patrol boats and planes, operating from Victoria and staging points on its far-flung

islands, have been able to

bring back to port at least

three foreign vessels caught

poaching inside the EEZ.

Armea witn tne rervour to

cooiuinaie tueir usning activities, oeycneiies lor example,

last month revised a tisnmg

agreement witn Mauritius

aimed at "consolidating regional cooperation". It allowed the Mauritian Tuna Fishing

and Canning Enterprises Ltd

to net tunas in the country's

EEZ, but on a very controlled

basis.

This agreement, which for

the first time allows the use

of seineur on a commercial

basis, is a special award to

Mauritius and is not offeced

to any other concern. J,^

ing nations were putting their

signatures to the Law of the

Sea Treaty in Jamaica in December, representatives of the

SWIO fisheries project were

at that time meeting here and

welcomed the agreement as

very good news. Most of them

had already claimed exclusive economic zones «wound

their sttores. - one delegate at the seminar

noted that the acquisition of

exclusive economic zones by

the developing countries was

providing a more secure basis for effective "husbandry'

of their resources and laying

the responsibility for the management of their natural economic assets firmly into their

hands.

CSO: 5200/15

18
SEYCHELLES

FISHING CO-OPERATION WITH MAURITIUS INTENSIFIED

Victoria NATION in English 21 Dec 82 pp 1, 2

[Text] jjjg new ioo^ regional co-operation fueled by the coming

to power of a socialist government in Mauritius this June

takes to the seas next montih with a revised Seychellois —

Mauritian agreement for tuna fishing in Seychelles'

waters.

The agreement just reached

: between the Ministry of National Development and Mauritius Tuna Fishing and Canning Enterprises Ltd was described by Minister Jacques

Hodoul as reflecting "the new

spirit of regional cooperation," and in a Ministry press

release as aimed at "consolidating regional co-operation

in general and Seychelles —

Mauritius co-operation in particular."

The accord will allow "Lady Sushil," a tuna purse seiner owned by the Mauritian

company, to fish in Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone

'for 10 weeks after December

29.

The agreement extends a

licence granted at the end of

May this year to the 524-ton.

ne vessel and which expires

on December 29.

This licence allows "Lady

Sushil" to net tuna in three

ten-week expeditions at a fee

of SR 70 per tonne.

The Mauritian ship carried

out two expeditions over the

last seven months.

The first ended in September with the "Lady Sushil"

paying a licence of SR36,000.

Fishing conditions were poor

and the ship had to fish mostly outside the EEZ.

The second expedition

which started in mid-October,

was more fruitful, and the

ship filled its hold.

The campany is confident

that the catch will be equally

good during the first three

months of next year.

The government press statement noted that this "proved

beyond doubt that the period

from September to April...

19
is ideal for tuna fishing in Seychelles waters and that Seychelles should seriously con.

sider the purse seining method for its own tuna fishing

industry."

The agreement came as a

surprise to some people because of the Government's

very strict control over purse

seining.

Whereas long line fishing,

the type used by the Fishing

Development Company (Fideco) and over 100 licensed

foreign fishing vessels, catches big tunas found between

200 to 300 metres deep, purse

seining collects tunas of all

sizes on the surface of the

sea.

"An uncontrolled exploitation of Seychelles' EEZ by

this method would be lethal,"

the press statement pointed

out.

So, although Seychelles

might allow some foreign

purse seiners to fish in its

waters on a selective basis,

the policy was to restrict

purse seining in the future to

Seychelles' own fishing fleet

operating by itself or in joint

ventures in which Seychelles

would hold a majority share.

Still, pending the creation

of a national tuna fleet using

purse seining as well as pole

and Wne and long line techniques and that would enable

Seychelles to exploit its resources, the Government, the

statement said, was "in favour

of helping countries in the region by allowing them to fish

in our EEZ on a very restrictive basis and provided the

operation is mutually beneficial.

"The decision to allow Lady Sushil to engage in a purse seining campaign reflects

that spirit of regional cooperation," the press release

added.

Because of this, the Mauritius Tuna Fishing and Canning Company willingly

agreed, under the new agreement, to increase the licence

fee from SR70 to SR110 per

tonne, payable in foreign convertible currency.

A Seychellois fishing technician will take part in "Lady

Sushil's" fishing activities,

joining two Seychellois already on board.

The vessel will also provide

the Seychelles Government

and Fideco with information

as to the techniques and results of its fishing.

"It is hoped that other joint

ventures between Fideco and

regional fishing companies

such as the Mauritius Tuna

Fishing and Canning Company Ltd will be possible in the

not too distant future," the

press release said.

SAP

CSO: 5200/14

20
REPORTAGE ON SWIO TRADITIONAL FISHERIES MEETINGS

FAO Sponsored

SEYCHELLES

Victoria NATION in English 11 Dec 82 p 1

[Text] FISHERIES officials of

eight South-West Ir.dian

Ocean countries at the seminar on small-scale fisheries at tlhe Reef Hotel, yesterday afternoon put final

touches to tiheir recommen*

dations for developing traditional fishing.

The conclusions of the fourday United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organisationäponsored workshop will next

Monday be presented to the

SWIO Committee for further

action.

The seminar dealt with the

design and constraction of

boats for small-scale fishing in

the region, the supply offishing

gear to and the improvement

of fishing methods by traditional fishermen, conservation

and processing of fish, the distribution of the fish by carrier vessels to areas difficult

to reach, manpower requirements in a developing fishery,

and the financing of fisheries.

The participants are from

Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar,

Mauritius, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania and Seychelles. They visited a local fish

landing point, processing facilities and the market.

The SWIO Committee (full

name, the Committee for the

Development and Management

of Fisheries in the South West

Indian Ocean) which will meet

for three-days at the Reef Hotel starting Monday is chaired by Seychelles.

This will be its second session following the "Le Gotland" Mauritius meeting in

April last year.

This year's agenda will cover the state of fisheries in the

region; special problems of

small-scale fisheries; monitoring, control and surveillance of

fish stocks and fishing training

facilities in the region; and

the FAO World Conference on

Fisheries Management and

Development.

SAP

21
Small-Scale Fishing

Victoria NATION in English 14 Dec 82 pp 1, 2

[Text] FOR THE SECOND time in a week, eight South-West

Indian Ocean countries are meeting at the Reef Hotel at

Anse aux Pins to discuss the development of small scale

traditional fishing in the region.

Yesterday morning, Planning and External Relations

Minister . Maxime Ferrari

launched the second session

of the Committee for the Development and Management

of the Fisheries of the Southwest Indian Ocean, known as

the SWIO Committee for

short, pointing out how crucial its work would be to the

economies of the countries

involved.

AS part or its work today

ana tomorrow, toe Committee

will review tne conclusions

ano recommendations of tne

tour-day FAO workshop on

traditional lisheries that ended last Friday.

The Food and Agriculture

Organisation Indian Ocean

Fisheries Commission has

also o.ganised the Committee

meeting.

Dr. Ferrari pointed out that

in Seychelles, as in all other

island and littoral states of

the area, fishing was being

called on to play an increasingly important role in national development.

Seychelles, he said, had

achieved the objective of satisfying domestic needs, with

each Seychellois consuming

85 kilogrammes of fish a year

— one of the highest per capita consumption rates in the

world. Some 6,000 tonnes of

fish were caught every year.

"An increase in the production of fish is therefore

considered by Seychelles Government of primary importance for our economy." the

Minister said. "It will help

create new jobs and boost

the export of high value products."

So, Seychelles considered

the setting up of the Committee as only a foundation

stone of fisheries development in the region and hoped

that the FAO World Conference in Fishery Management

and Development proposed

for the near future would develop a full programme of

long term collaboration.

(The proposed world conference is one of the main

items on the Committee's

agenda.)

22
Minister Ferrari urged that the world conference should give more importance

to developing island states because not only were these isolated and poor,

but often their main and only resource was fishing.

Now, with the signing of Law of the Sea Treaty and the adoption of enlarged

exclusive economic zones, new opportunities for further development were being opened up.

,T$»e Mtfftfffp^ called on

donor: cwirtri|ei to increase

their help to the development

and management of fisheries

in the South West Indian

Ocean so as to make technical co-operation between the

developing countries easier.

The top FfAO official at the

meeting,., Mr. Jean-Louis Gaudet, Senior Fishery Planning

Officer in the Organisation's

Fishery. Development and

PJanhing . Service Division,

noted that the session was

being held at a tinvewhen

important and far-reaching

changes, such as the signing

of the Law of the Sea, were

taking place in world fisheries.

"Most members of yöür

Committee have already exclusive economic zones of

200 miles and have thus acquired not only a more septire

basis for effective "husbandry" of the resources, but the

responsibility for management is now firmly in your

härids, acting either individually or collectively."

Everyone involved was

aware, Mr. Gaudet said, they

were moving towards a new

era in which coastal states

would have to realign rthejr

fisheries policies and management and development programmes. The CommittjBe. he

added, was designed to help

here.

The states involved had "to

grapple with.,a poverty-stricken, small-scale fisheries sector on the one harici and meet

the new challenges of managing and developing an offshore fisheries in the EEZ on

the other," he said.

Mr. Gaudet notes that

while small-scale fishermen

contributed a very large portion of the totai fish produced in the region, n ttyajr

per capita income production

was.much less than what it

could be.

"This low production results Th reduced income to the

fishermen and loss of potential food for the whole population," a situation aggravated by. losses caused by

bad handling of catches and

inadequate ;$rdee»s»»$ < j6re*

servation.' storage, distribution, communications and

marketing.

*

"A heavy responsibility

rests on us all. We Have to

mobilize our minds, our force

as individuals, as organized

bodies and governments in

this important task," Mr. Gaujdet said.

The Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, arid

Tanzania Kay,e been joined in

the Committee meeting by

the FAO, the European Economic Community, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and

France.

Their agenda also includes

discussions on the state <:.of

fisheries in the South-West

Indian Ocean, the special

problems of small scale fisheries, the monitoring and surveillance of fish stocks and

fishing, and the training of

small-scale fishermen.

SAP;

23
Joint Action Proposed

Victoria NATION in English 18 Dec 82 p 16

[Text] MEMBER countries of the

South West Indian Ocean

Committee which ended its

Reef Hotel meeting on,

Wednesday found that they

shared similar problems in

developing and managing

their maritime resources,

the leader of the Seychelles

delegation reported yesterday.

Mr. Wallace Samsoodin, the

Chief Fisheries Officer in the

Ministry of National Development, explained that each of

the nations represented —

fne Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Somaiia, Tanzania and

Seychelles — presented a

profile of its fisheries development strategy. From this the

delegates deduced the difficulties being encountered

and suggested priorities for

joint action.

The acquisition of better

technology was one such action that could be undertaken

by the countries of the region

to improve the knowledge of

the resources in their waters,

~~~" to improve economic and social conditions for the area's

fishermen, to upgrade their

technical skills, and to determine the appropriate development and management of

these resources.

During the regional FAO seminar on traditional fisheries

ttet proceeded the SWIO

Committee meeting last week,

it came out that the region's

fishermen were exploiting only one-eighth of their potential fisheries resources. Given that they were able to get

better fishing techniques and

the proper types of boats, the

region's 100,000 fishermen

could increase their earnings

and at the same ttme land a

greater source of proteins for

their peoples.

Mr. Samsoodin noted that

the lack of skilled and semiskilled manpower, the shortage of foreign exchange, and

the difficulties of transport

and communications were

among the major concerns

preventing the majority of the

region's fishermen from improving their life-style.

He pointed out that despite

these constraints, there was

rrtch that could be done at

the national level to improve

tto situation. esp&ciaNy in coltoeting information which

could help a better management, of fisheries resources.

The members of the Committee for the Development

and Management of Fisheries

in the South-West Indian

Ocean, as it is officially called,

recommended a feasibility

study which could harmonise

legislations, license conditions, surveillance and the

enforcement system of their

countries' exclusive economic

zones.

2k
Seychelles, which is already

successfully managing its

vast exclusive economic zone,

offered to help other counties to maximise their direct

involvement in tuna fisheries,

particularly in the waters

close to the shore.

World Conference

Discussing the proposed

FAO World Conference on

Fishe ies Management and

Development, the delegates

saw it as an o-ptrtunity to

share experiences on various

aspects of fisheries with

others regions of the world.

As most of the SWIO countries had exclusive economic

zones, the world conference

was of greater interest to

them since they would be

able to discuss with other regions the new opportunities

provided by the new Law of

the Sea Treaty, which most

developing cShiWties have

sighted.* ^/ "

At th® c%se of the meeting on, Wednesday. Mozambique and'ä Somalia were

elected tne new Chairman

and Vice Chairman, respectively", &*"*'e SWtO Committees '•:

'

i1

SAP

CSO: 5200/14

25
SOUTH AFRICA

MINISTRY MEASURES TO CONTROL FISHING CRITICIZED

Johannesburg THE STAR in English 9 Dec 82 p 31

[Text] Cape Town—Scientific evidence on the Cape's fish stocks and their

breeding patterns show that the new measures to conserve the pelagic fishing

industry announced yesterday by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs

might be a blunder with disastrous consequences for the fishing industry,

fisheries scientists said.

Instead of following scientific advice and reducing the Cape pelagic quota

from 380 000 to 325 000, Mr John Wiley had increased the anchovy quota by

one tenth by not including species such as lantern fish, maasbanker and redeye

in the global quota.

Break

This mean's another 30 000 tons of anchovies could be taken, stretching the

already overworked fish resource to breaking point.

Scientists said Mr Wiley's move to change the pelagic season to November to

March instead of the existing January to August was apparently based on incorrect information.

Mr Wiley said the reason for the change in season was that "all scientific

evidence showed the fish spawned in October." Fisheries experts on the other

hand said the only scientific evidence they could point to show that most of

the anchovy spawning took place in the middle of the new catching season.

A graph published in a fisheries bulletin showed the monthly egg production

of the Cape peaked sharply during late November and December.

The bulletin of the International Commission for the South East Atlantic

Fishery showed that October, November, December, January and February were

all months in which egg production was heavy.

Expert

Dr Doug Butterworth, a Department of Applied Mathematics man and acknowledged

expert on fish stocks, said Mr Wiley did not seem to understand the concept

of a maximum sustainable yield.

26
"The best possible estimate by scientists is just as likely to be too little

as too much—that's what a best possible estimate means. It is essential

these estimates are acted on," said Dr Butterworth. Dr Butterworth said the

ideal method to utilise a resource like fish could be compared with a wise

investor who, having capital in the bank, lived off the interest.

The interest, in the case of a fishery, was the recruitment rate.

Point

Ideally the fish should be caught to a point where the product of the stock

of "capital" and the recruitment or "interest" was at a maximum. That was

the maximum sustainable yield.

Mr Wiley said he could not cut back on the quota because the scientists could

offer no growth prospect for the industry, that the price of fish meal would

rise resulting in a chain reaction and that the small boat owner would be

adversely affected.

"Mr Wiley is living on his capital. Where does he expect the growth potential

to come from? The scientists have told him that 325 000 tons is the best estimate. Anything over that is eating into the capital of the fish reserves,"

said Dr Butterworth.

Anchovy

"The latest estimates show that the anchovy estimates are too high and a

figure in the low 200 000's might be a lot closer to the safe limit.

"Mr Wiley admits there is a problem in the Cape pelagic industry and its

seems a strange way to solve the problem by increasing the quota."

CS0: 3400/564

.27
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

DENMARK'S DISPUTE WITH EC COULD HURT SWEDISH FISHERMEN

Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER in Swedish 13 Dec 82 p 7

[Article by Ake Ringberg: "Denmark Gets into a Conflict with the EC; Swedish

Fisheries Threatened"]

[Excerpts] Copenhagen, 9 Dec 82—After nearly.10 years of -

trying to create a common fisheries policy with the EC, the

Danish government decided on Thursday, 9 December, to reject

the EC Commission's "last offer" to Denmark, and consequently

it looks as if a fishing war will break out when the new year

begins.

The conflict can also produce repercussions in Sweden, the organization representing the interests of the fishermen and the management of the fisheries

fear.

"If the EC and the Danes do not come to an agreement, the chances of our getting

a quota agreement with the EC will be dismal," says Ombudsman Bjorn Lindblad of

the SFR [National Association of Swedish Fishermen].

That means that two Swedish longboats will cease their activities and that - ; ::

herring and mackerel fishermen will have big problems.

No Agreement

Over 500 fishing boats, chiefly from Denmark and Great Britain, have to leave

the Norwegian fishing area when the new year begins because of the fact that the

fishing negotiations between Denmark and the EC have broken down. There is

a prenegotiated agreement between the EC and Norway already, but the EC's

Council of Ministers refuses to sign it until unity is achieved within the EC

on fishing, DAGENS NYHETER's correspondent Bjorn Lindahl writes from Oslo.

As a consequence, a situation where there is no agreement will come into i:.:Lv;;_

existence on New Year's Day and Norway demands that all fishing boats from the

EC leave the Norwegian area immediately. Norwegian fisherman are not hit by

these measures immediately since the old agreement on several kinds of fish

extends until 15 January.

9266

CSO: 5200/2521

28
IWTERNATIOFAL" AFFAIRS

PAPER CRITICIZES DANISH HANDLING OF DISPUTE WITH FRG

Godthaab GR0NLANDSPOSTEN in Danish 8 Dec 82 p 2

[Editorial: "That Is Not Your Game at All"]

[Text] The cod war which has broken out has created a stir in political

circles in Greenland. The Greenland premier states that a profound disagreement has arisen between the Danish government and the local Greenland

government, and he states that the concept of home rule will have to be reevaluated. Arqaluk Lynge, chairman of the party Inuit Ataqatigiit [radical

youth group], proposes that Greenland and the Faroes jointly discuss the

relations of the two provinces with Denmark.

There is much bitterness in Greenland at the moment. When the cod war broke

out immediately after the change of government last fall, we in Greenland

discovered that our home rule was not worth as much with Poul Schlüter as

with Anker J0rgensen. At the time, we learned once more that it is no fun

at all being the small one. Denmark's big neighbor had taken it into its

head to maintain its fishing rights off Greenland, whatever the cost.

The surmise proved, indeed, to be correct. The Germans have now achieved

their aim of helping us with the remaining quota that we shall not be able to

catch. And Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann has said that, according to international agreements, we are obligated to catch the entire quota.

Things would, undoubtedly, have been different under the Social Democratic

government, which always listened to the wishes of Greenland.

It is very unsatisfactory to us that the value of our home rule will have to

depend on the good will of the government in power.

The fishing industry is the life nerve of Greenland. A home rule arrangement

which deprives the Greenlanders of their right of determination over the

fishing off Greenland by foreign nations is not good enough for anybody. It

is tantamount to depriving the Greenlanders of the feeling of their own worth.

It is the same thing as saying openly to the Greenlanders: That is not your

game. You do not know anything about things like thatI

That policy has caused enough damage and ought not to be repeated.

7262

CSO: 5200/2513

29
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

GREENLAND PREMIER CLAIMS DENMARK ALLOWS FRG ILLEGAL FISHING

Godthaab GR0NLANDSPOSTEN in Danish 8 Dec 82 p 21

CText] The continued cod fishing off West Greenland by the Federal

Republic of Germany has given rise to a conflict between the local

Greenland government and the Danish government. The local Greenland government has asked the Danish government to employ its

fisheries inspection vessels to stop the fishing by the Germans,

and the Greenlanders are at a complete loss to understand why the

request has not been complied with.

"We take a very serious view of the disagreement between the local Greenland

government and the Danish government,1' says Greenland Premier Jonathan

Motzfeldt, who, incidentally, describes the continued fishing by the Germans

beyond the 5,000 tons that had been allocated, as a downright theft.

"We had hoped that the agreement existing with the Greenland government on

the problem would more or less automatically have caused the Danish government to take the initiative to implement the decision made by the Greenland

government."

No Solution in Sight

There is thus no solution in sight to the conflict which arose when the

German trawlers continued fishing off West Greenland after all of the 5,000

tons of cod allocated had been fished.

There are still three West German trawlers off West Greenland, but the two

of them will leave the area by 10 December, John Grusgaard, fisheries officer

of the Greenland Command at Gr0nnedal, states.

Last Monday morning, the Danish government had not yet reversed its decision

tacitly to allow the Germans to go on fishing. "There have been contacts

between the local Greenland government and the Danish government, but no

positive move," Lars Emil Johansen, member of the local Greenland government,

says.

According to reports received from the Greenland Command, the German trawlers

off West Greenland have by now caught approximately 6,000 tons of cod, thus

30
1,000 tons beyond the quota which they were allocated under the compromise

reached in Bonn.

The reason why a dispute such as the present one may arise at all is that,

at the introduction of home rule, a temporary arrangement was made on the

control of fishing off Greenland.

It is the local Greenland government which controls the fishing by Greenlanders in Greenland waters, while it is the Danish government which controls the fishing by foreigners.

"Problems of the kind with which we are faced at the moment will almost '

inevitably have the effect that the Greenland government will have to insist

that the control of foreign fishing as well be transferred to the Greenland

government."

Will Stop at 60,000

Whereas the Greenland government now assumes that it willbe_possible to

fish the entire cod TAC of 62,000 tons off West Greenland, this is regarded

as unlikely from the German side.

And, actually, the only assurance received from the Germans is that they

will be willing to stop their fishing when the total catch reaches the

60,000 tons level.

"It is an entirely wrong idea, assuming that the 62,000 tons will have to

be caught," the Greenland government states unanimously.

"On the contrary, we ought to be happy if the sensitive spawn be supplemented by a few hundred tons which it will not be possible to catch.

7262

CSOi 5200/2513

31
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

DANISH MINISTER HITS BRITISH THREAT TO SEIZE FISHING BOATS

Copenhagen BERLINGSKE TIDENDE in Danish 22 Dec 82 Sect II p 2

[Article by Klaus Justesen]

[Text] A fishery war, involving the seizure of Danish fishing vessels, huge

fines, is imminent after Denmark yesterday rejected the latest proposal for

a joint EC fishery policy. The deadline for avoiding such a ruinous showdown is on 30 December. In Brussels, they admit that the chances of obtaining a compromise are diminutive after the rejection by the marketing committee

of the Folketing yesterday of the latest proposals.

The very moment the Danish rejection became known at the EC headquarters in

Brussels, the other nine countries started their preparations for the implementation of separate national arrangements. At the same time, they made it

clear that they will seek to give Danish fishermen conditions which are far

worse than those they would have obtained according to the proposals of yesterday.

Threats From Peter Walker

The most serious threats came from the British minister of fisheries, Peter

Walker. He stated openly that Danish fishing vessels will be seized if, as

threatened by Denmark, they go inside the British 12-mile limit. They will,

moreover, have their equipment confiscated, and fines of up to 700,000 kroner

may be expected.

j

Minister of Fisheries Shocked

The clearly shocked Danish minister of fisheries, Henning Grove, said that

the British threat was a manifestation of profound disappointment. He could

not believe that a responsible minister would take steps which from the Danish

side are regarded as illegal. At the same time, he recommended that Danish

fishermen continue as hitherto.

However, well-informed sources have told BERLINGSKE TIDENDE that the British

side will take up an extremely intransigent attitude. The British minister

finds that he has made all the necessary concessions. That is why his

32
fishery organizations will demand a guarantee that their Danish colleagues

will not get hold of a single "British fish."

The rejection yesterday was a serious defeat to the Danish minister of

fisheries, Henning Grove. About noon, he promised his colleagues that he

would seek to obtain a majority for the latest proposals. According to

Henning Grove, that would involve considerable concessions in respect of the

Danish demands.

According to the latest reports, it has been possible to increase the Danish

hauls by more than ^0,000 tons over the quantities contained in the proposals

which Minister of Fisheries Karl Hjortnass last summer declined to discuss.

Disappointment Among :0ther EC Countries

The fact that Denmark said No once more caused clear disappointment among

the other EC countries. From the Dutch side, it was thus said that the entire community has become endangered. Belgium described it as a dangerous

situation that the ministers actually have to carry on negotiations with the

marketing committee.

Josef Ertl of the Federal Republic of Germany described it as unheard-of

that an opposition party shall be allowed to make a decision on such an

important matter. Peter Walker added that, actually, it probably ought to

have been Karl Hjortnsss who should have been seated at the negotiating table.

Late last night, a couple of countries attempted to force through the proposals through a majority vote. Great! Britain, Greece and France, however,

refused to participate in such a vote, and Minister of Fisheries Henning Grove

made it clear that he was ready to veto the proposals.

7262

CSO: 5200/2513

33
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

DANISH PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES FISHING TIES WITH EC, NORWAY

Copenhagen BERLINGSKE TIDENDE in Danish 22 Dec 82 Sect II p 2

[Article by Michael Ehrenreich]

[Text] An uncertain future awaits the Danish fishing industry after the

rejection by the Folketing's Marketing Committee of the proposals from the

other nine EC countries for a joint fishery policy.

It happened because separate national measures as of the New Year probably

will be formulated on the basis of the original proposal from the EC Commission of last summer, in addition to new and more stringent regulations

for control of the total volume of fish and the quotas of the individual

countries.

"The government fears that the other countries will turn against Denmark

in such a way that the national regulations and restrictions will not be

satisfactory to Denmark. And the future of the Danish fishing industry is

now extremely uncertain," says Prime Minister Poul Schlüter.

According to the prime minister, the majority of the Marketing Committee

rejected the following proposals:

(1) A quota of 22,000 tons of mackerel in 1983, obtained after negotiations

between the EC and Norway/the Faroes. The latest mackerels were received

when Great Britain yesterday gave up preferences of 4,000 tons of mackerel

in the Norwegian zone. In the years after 1983, Denmark would have prospects

of a larger total mackerel quota.

(2) Danish right to additional catches within the industrial fishery sector

of a total of 1.3 million tons at a total export value of 1.3 billion kroner.

(3) Improvements for Danish fishermen among British priority rights in the

Shetland area, according to which 60-70 percent of the Danish two-net

fishing could be continued unchanged.

(4) An additional 2,000 tons of cod in the North Sea. Altogether, a total

quota of 52,000 tons. The EC Commission's original proposal was for 44,000

tons of cod for Denmark.

34
(5) An additional 1,000 tons of haddock from West Germany in exchange for

a shrimp quota.

"The government has made strenuous efforts to improve the original proposals

of the other countries, but we took over a very much neglected negotiating

position from the former government, where Karl Hjortnses throughout 2 years

had adopted a completely negative and passive position in the negotiations.

Karl Hjortnses did not even succeed in reaching agreements on half a sardine,"

Prime Minister Poul Schlüter says.

Former Minister of Fisheries Karl Hjortnsss says that Denmark will later on

be able to obtain a satisfactory agreement.

"The price for obtaining a joint agreement was to be paid by Denmark only,

and that was entirely unacceptable. A No on the present basis will not

cause the fishing industry any greater difficulties than a Yes," says Karl

Hjortnaes.

"The government's proposals meant serious reductions in the hitherto

catches for the most important species of fish. Information obtained from

the government shows that all of the "concessions" made to Denmark will

apply in I983 only, whereas our concessions are without time limits. With

its proposal, the government has broken the consensus of opinion existing

so far among government, Folketing and industry," says Karl Hjortnses.

7262

CSO: 5200/2513

35
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

EC OFFICIAL SEES LOS CONFLICTING WITH EUROPEAN INTERESTS

Duesseldorf WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE in German 3 Dec 82 pp 21-22

[Interview with EC Commissioner Karl-Heinz Narjes by Harald Hotze of

WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE about the significance of the Law of the Sea Convention:

"The Convention Represents a Step Backward"]

[Text] [Question] The Law of the Sea Convention appears to be ready for

signature. Has the treaty turned out to be the treaty of a century?

Narjes: The hesitancy of many countries to join the convention alone

indicates that there cannot be any question of a treaty of a century. My

misgivings concentrate on deep-sea mining. I also note the voices of

concern being heard in connection with transit rights, with archipelago

solutions—for instance, in the Aegean, the Baltic, the Adriatic and also

the Strait of Malacca.

[Question] The centuries-old tradition of the freedom of the seas is being

endangered by the convention?

Narjes: The convention clearly represents a step backward. It is beyond

dispute that even from the aspect of territorial division, of the zoning of

the oceans, the geographical area of application of the water surface to

which the freedom of the seas in fact still applies has been almost halved.

[Question] The countries expect enormous future treasures of the bottom of

the sea. Are its yields being distributed justly by the convention?

Narjes: In the discussion over the Convention of the Law of the Sea we are

directing our attention at present in a somewhat dangerous way to a type

of minerals, the so-called manganese nodules. Those we know, those we

consider worth mining, and we also have the requisite technology for mining

them. Therefore a number of regulations have been made with manganese mining

in mind. But who is to exclude the possibility that one day minerals will

also be able to be mined from below the bottom of the sea—iron or beauxite?

It is already being surmised that under the bottom of the sea nonfossile

methane gas can be procured as a source of energy. If therefore the convention is to be viable, we will have to orient the legal regulations toward

such prospects.

36
[Question] Where does the Convention of the Law of the Sea contradict

European interests?

Narjes: It does so most acutely in the field of deep-sea mining, because

the regime which has been created for it is one of planning, of intervention.

This means that for the mining of raw materials a system running counter to

article 1 of GATT is being created.

[Question] The United States does not intend to sign the treaty. Doesn't

that make it useless?

Narjes: I have no doubt but that Washington's refusal to sign the convention

clearly limits the practicability of the treaty. Definitive statements

are not yet possible at present. Also under the impression of American

and European misgivings, it was recognized in the final stages of the conference that the rules for bottom-of-the-sea mining are not all that practicable.

[Question] That sounds very abstract...

Narjes: Practically speaking, it means: I have doubts as to whether on the

basis of the so far still provided regime for mining under the sea any banker

would give any kind of credits. The available regulations will not create

any credit-worthy projects or credit-worthy consortiums. I assume that an

installation for mining manganese nodules will cost at least 3 billion

deutsche marks.

[Question] The [European] Commission has advocated the signing of this

convention. Do the pros actually outweigh the cons?

Narjes: Four countries of the [European] Community, Ireland, Greece, Denmark

and France—definitely intend to sign; three countries do not intend to do

so. So we have definitely considered it proper to say that, despite all

the misgivings concerning deep-sea mining, it is probably the lesser of

evils to sign. But in signing we will make it clear that the treaty will

be ratified only if the regulations about deep-sea mining are improved.

[Question] That will become a political statement?

Narjes: Yes. We owe this not only to our obligation to place the member

countries on a common denominator again; We also owe it to the overall

European interest in a viable international economic system, which can

never be a system directed by accidental UN majorities. We also owe it to

our relations with the United States.

[Question] Why, then the European signatures under the treaty?

Narjes: It must of course not be overlooked that after years of uncertainty

the treaty again provides legal security for research and protection of the

environment and in case of tanker accidents.

8790

CSO: 5200/2514

3T
FRANCE

SEA POLICY AS SHOWN IN I98A--I988 PLAN EXAMINED

Paris LA NOUVELLE REWE MARITIME in French Nov 82 pp 6-8

^Article by Joseph Martray: "The Ninth Plan: The Modest Presence of the

Ocean^/

^Text/ The ninth plan, for the period 1984-1988, is now in its initial phase

of development, that of regional consultations. These will be completed in

February 1983 and will be followed by consultations in the Economic and Social Council, then by the vote in Parliament at the end of 1983.

That series of consultations was preceded by government adoption of a text

presented by the minister of state for planning and development: the "orientation document for preparation of the ninth plan."

In that volume, devoted to a very high level consideration of French prospects for the present decade, what place is given to the sea? It is of

course from that viewpoint alone that we shall evaluate it in this review.

First—and this marks appreciable progress since the 1982-1984 interim plan—

the sea is not completely absent. Thus in stating "the assets of France,"

the first section of the document mentions the sea, after "natural and agricultural resources":

"The length of its coastline and extent of its marine domain, together with

the experience built up by generations of sailors and fishermen and the efforts of its researchers, have placed France in the very first rank in the

sciences of the sea and their application. Development of oceanology, and

marine biology in particular, assures us good positions for both fisheries

and aquaculture as well as for offshore industries. It enables us to contribute effective cooperation in those fields to Third World countries, and

also facilitates the efforts needed to redress our own balance of payments,

which has become unfavorable in terms of fisheries products."

Concrete Proposals

It must indeed be noted, however, that in this 59-page document that is the

only passage which refers to the sea. That reference, made in satisfactory

38
but general terms, is not taken up again anywhere else in the remaining second and third sections. But those two sections are of capital importance

since they concern the "key imperatives of success" and the "paths to a new

development." That is where we hoped for concrete proposals on the new contributions which ocean resources development, with its manifold consequences,

can make to France's future in the very perspective of the "coherent and

courageous project" presented in conclusion as being the ambition of the

present decade.

Indeed, the opening of France to the sea cannot be considered as a secondary

operation reflected in a few narrow and localized initiatives. It must be

an essential element of our future entailing profound changes in their understanding of certain economic realities and in their traditional behavior

by the French, who have long been hemmed in by terrestrial prespectives. As

was recalled by the minister of maritime affairs at the opening of the "National Sea Days" which we report in this issue, France is the third ranking

power in the world in terms of the extent of its maritime domain. It ranks

ninth in merchant ship tonnage, and among the leading three or four powers—

in certain cases ranking first—in extent of oceanonogical research, which

must have considerable consequences for the orientation of the ninth plan.

We shall confine ourselves here to a few suggestions which would make it

possible to go farther, while following the general plan of the document.

Adapting to an International Dimension

Concerning the "key imperatives of success," particularly "the search for a

greater capacity of autonomous action by France in the world," (p 20) it

should be emphasized the opening of France on the seas and overseas is a

prerequisite. The drafters of the document would indeed have found in maritime problems the best illustration of the necessity for us to adapt constantly to the community and world dimension. We shall cite but four examples:

The fact that the problems facing French fisheries can be solved only on the

community level and through international agreements with many countries on

other continents;

The need to tackle the very grave problem of our negative balance of trade

in marine products, which should be seen much more in terms of expanding our

exports than in terms of a difficult limitation of our imports. But development of marine products exports itself implies development of our domestic

production, which would moreover create employment in coastal regions;

The importance of marine transportation for our trade balance, but also that

of services, not forgetting port activities and the complex of auxiliary

activities related to transportation, as emphasized by IFM /expansion unknown? president Jean Morin in the final Sea Conference.

39
Possibilities for exchange of techniques and know-how with foreign countries,

including the Third World, in the field of oceanic activities where France

already has a front rank position which ought to be strengthened and emphasized. In this connection, trade relationships between French coastal regions and maritime regions of Europe and other continents should be systematically developed in the period of the ninth plan.

A Broadened Horizon

With a view to "opening the paths to a new development," the document indi<?

cates that in the future profound transformations will result from the spread

of new technologies, the dispersion of urbanization, etc. It discusses the

needed changes in conditions of life in rural France, and declares that "environmental policy must be reconsidered on new bases."

The ever-growing place of .the sea and coastline in the concerns of the French

people, which also reflects an awareness of maritime realities, will pose

problems to be considered at the level of reflection on the orientation of

the plan.

What will be the role of the coastline in the new development? How are often contradictory activities to be reconciled, and what legal machinery

sould be relied on? What training and information activities should be initiated? How is the sea itself to be managed? That problem is not touched

on in the document, though it speaks of management of rivers and tributaries,

mountains, and the Mediterranean forest. But the new law of the sea places

under national jurisdiction considerable areas (200 miles from the base lines)

in which'the state has resources, as well as those of the continental shelf.

That is a broadening of our traditional horizon, with all that entails for

development and essmmereialization of oceans, protection of the marine environment, defense, etc.

Finally, since the ninth plan is to be one of initiatives, innovations, mutations, and changes of behavior, it would be desirable to give greater emphasis to the importance of the sea in that respect. All the more so since

other activities are objects of planning for the future: aeronautics, space,

telecommunications, nuclear energy, armaments industries, and even electronic

toys.i And yet, in no other field are so many technological revolutions in

preparation, whether it be for control of marine biological resources, and

particularly aquaculture, for offshore industries, or for possible uses of

such ocean energy resources as oil from ever greater depths, tides, wave

power, thermal energy from the sea, algae biomass, etc.

Thinking Should Begin While There is Yet Time

Once again, it would be unjust to pretend that the orientation document did

not raise those prospects, since it devoted 10 lines to them. But the reference was only an "evocation" without impact on the sequel, which is the

constructive portion, and that in which all other future activities are the

objects of plans and proposals.

ko
It is certainly not too late for that gap to be filled, for there is still

a year left before the parliamentary debate on final adoption. That is why

we suggest that real reflection should begin, in the context of the ninth

plan, on what the seas can contribute to France in this decade.

61^-5

CSO: 5200/2519

in
SPAIN

FISHING DISPUTES, INCIDENTS WITH MOROCCO

Madrid ABC in Spanish 6 Dec 82 supplement pp II-III

[Article by Alfredo Semprum Guillen]

[Text] The fishing conflicts with Morocco,less than a month from the expiration of the present agreement, are already tending toward a genuine "naval

war." They have been able to gather little information about the origin of

the recent incidents that happened off the Saharan coast, where the machinegunning of.two.Lanzarote fishing,boats and the boarding of a third boat by a

group of supposed Moroccans took place. Sources from the Naval Military Command of Las talmas stated that they had only the "confused and contradictory"

statements of the captains, which had not provided "sufficient evidence to

determine the identity of the perpetrators of these attacks."

Without wanting to go back to the slaughter of the crew members of the Cruz

del Mar or the disappearance of the Mencey de Abona —with the subsequent

discovery of the handcuffed corpse of one of its sailors—, everything seems

to indicate that silence is going to shroud the events once more. If in the

first of the above cases suspicions pointed toward the Polisario Front, the

agreements signed by Saharan representatives with a commission of the

Socialist Party, presently in power, resulted in the freeing of the Canarian

fishermen held in Algeria and the end, at least visible, of the Polisario

"naval" actions.

At the same time there has been talk of the intervention of Mauritanian

pirates, led by an ex-mercenary nicknamed "the German;" of the existence of

"intimidating" actions by boats belonging to "mixed" enterprises in order to

remove the independent fishermen and also the excess of zeal of the Moroccan

navy patrol boats. But, really, the explanations provided by our authorities

are few, not to say none. And the lack of interest seems even more serious

which appears to exist among the, in principle, chief persons damaged —

shipowners and fishermen — for an exhaustive investigation of this matter

to be made.

Last April, the captain of the fishing boat "Moana," also from Lanzarote,

reported that he had been the victim of an assault by a group of "pirates"

who boarded his boat from another fishing boat. This news was intercepted

by a radio transmitter, and in this way it reached the naval authorities.

k2
Then it was learned that another vessel, the "Estrella," had suffered a

similar attack a few days before, but that its crew decided, for unknown

reasons, not to report it.

It is here that the rumors of the existence of an active "black market" in

fish on the high seas take shape again. It is known the Moroccan Royal Navy

uses "camouflaged" boats on special checking missions on the fishing bank. -

y

The Naval Military Command of Las Palmas confirmed to us that is was certain

that they had detected the presence of armed Moroccan soldiers on board their

fishing boats. What has not been officially clarified is the nature of these

"special missions." Sources close to the Rabat government explained that

these units could be being used in the fight against the Polisario "terrorists,".

The statements by the captain of the "Ascension del Sefior," which was boarded

last 23 November, could confirm this theory. According to its captain,

Benigno Umpierrez Martin, the "Ascension del Sefior" was anchored 4 miles from

the coast of the Sahara when, about 9 p.m., they were surprised by a group of

unknown persons "with the looks of Moroccans."

"Without realizing it," Umpierrez said, "we ran into an outboard motor boat

with five persons inside. Four of them climbed up. They were speaking

Spanish and one was wearing a military uniform, and the rest were calling him

corporal, although he was not wearing stripes."

The attackers asked the captain for his fishing license, his name and the

number of crew members on the boat. Then they explained that they had just

fired at two Saharan boats that they were trying to intercept.

"At the beginning," explained Umpierrez, "they had the submachine guns pointed

at us, but afterward we gave them wine and tobacco, and they were satisfied."

The Spanish fishermen could see a box of ammunition and a portable radio

transmitter in the attackers' launch. The "Saharan boats" against which they

asserted having fired were actually the Lanzarote fishing boats "Herminia" and

"Falan," which were able to take flight.

In pure theory, this could be one of those "special missions," if it were not

for two reasons: the attackers' craft —a boat with an outboard motor— does

not have the same characteristics as the rest of the "camouflaged" units

detected on the bank.

Money for Bribes

But the impression that this was a matter of Moroccan soldiers cannot be discarded. There are occasions on which these "camouflaged" crews have practiced

a lesser grade piracy on their own, especially when they were not collecting

their salary on time. They have also reported the fact that the Spanish

fishermen were carrying money ready to bribe the commanders of the "motorboats" in case they were surprised in prohibited waters.

Finally we have to return to the subject of the "black market." In the fishing

ports of Morocco: Agadir, Mohamedia Casablanca — they acknowledge the

existence of this practice, although the Rabat authorities and the Spanish

1+3
authorities have not been well aware of the reports published in various newspapers. At any rate, the sale on the high seas of the seizures made by the

Moroccan fishermen from Spanish or Korean vessels would cause sufficient

concern for the number and kinds of camouflaged boats to have been increased.

The motorboats of the Moroccan Navy are not very effective, because they are

concentrated in the port of Casablanca, and every time put out to sea "the

word goes out" by radio among the fishermen. The fact [is] that the Moroccan

fleet — consisting of 6,000 boats and 21,000 crew members — is not capable

of supplying the local market with seizures, despite its number.

It is the "miracle of the fish," as they say in Casablanca: the more difficulties they make for the fleets that are fishing in Moroccan waters, the

more is the volume of business that is reported in the port of origin of

these fleets. It is not strange that there is very little interest in the

investigation of the incidents that we are discussing. The Spanish-Moroccan

negotiations on fishing — aparently there is already a previous agreement

to extend the validity of the licenses for another 6 months — the efforts of

Rabat to increase the power of its own fishing industry, the investments of

the mixed "Spanish-Moroccan" companies could suffer a serious deterioration if

the problem is given its "naturalization papers."

Morocco would then be keeping up a silent fight against the illegal trade in

fish and against its consequences: the black market in dirhans — since the

fishermen are collecting on the high seas in cash and in their own currency

— which is also very widespread in our market places on Ceuta and Melilla.

9545

CSO: 5200/2516

kh
TUBKEY

DUTY SETTING FOR STRAITS PASSAGE DISCUSSED

Istanbul MILLIYET in Turkish 12 Dec 82 p 4

[Interview with Professor Tahir Caga, chairman of the Departments of the Law of the

Sea and Commercial Law and Private Law Sciences, by Mehmet Barlas]

[Text] Professor Tahir Caga was born in Beykoz, Istanbul. He went to primary

school in Beykoz and graduated from the Istanbul Boys School in 1929, the Istanbul

Boys Lycee in 1931, and the Istanbul Faculty of Law in 1934. He received a doctorate of law from the Zurich University Faculty of Law and Political Sciences in

1939. He held a judgeship in the Istanbul civil and commercial courts of the first

instance from the beginning of 1943 until the middle of 1953 and, during the last

4 years of this period, was commercial court chairman. He worked on the commission

that drafted the commercial law that is now in effect. He became visiting lecturer

at the Faculty of Law in 1948, staff assistant professor in 1953, and professor at

the beginning of 1963. At present, he is chairman of the Departments of the Law of

the Sea and Commercial Law and Private Law Sciences.

[Question] I wish to deal with the situation that came up through your work. It is

understood that, because of misinterpretation of financial statutes of the Montreux

Treaty, the money collected by Turkey for transit through the straits has been unsubstantial for years.

[Answer] The Montreux Treaty, dated 20 July 1936, proposed an official duty in

"gold francs" on commercial ships for transit (that is, without docking at a port

in the region) through the Canakkale Straits, the Marmara Sea, and the Istanbul

Straits ~ termed "straits" ~ per net ship tonnage:

a. For hygiene inspection 0.075

b. For lighthouses, lighted buoys, etc.

Up to 800 tons 0.42

Over 800 tons " 0.21

c. For lifeboat service 0.10

[Question] What is a "gold franc" in this instance?

[Answer] Although the agreement does not define gold franc, there is mention of

the gold franc in Footnote No 1 of Appendix No 1.

U5
This is from the explanation, "At present, 100 kurush is equal to approximately

2 francs, 50 centimes." The gold franc was created on 7 April 1805 by Napoleon or

17 Germinal XI using the Revolution Calendar — it is from here that the term,

germinal franc, comes. In 1920, the gold franc was accepted by the League of Nations as a unit of computation which was adopted by several international treaties

(such as the Universal Postal Union, International Telecommunications, and Railroad

Transport agreements). It is understood that a French gold franc contains 10/31

grams of gold of 900/1000 purity. That is to say, when translating this amount to

24 carats and stating it in a decimal fraction, a gold franc is equivalent to

0.290323 grams of pure gold (24-carat gold).

[Question] Mr. Caga, in this situation, Turkey collects a duty in place of gold

for transit through the straits. Perhaps, the problem in the recent past resulted

from the concept of an "official price" for gold.

[Answer] Commercial ships in transit may, if they wish, pay duties to be collected

in Turkish currency in accordance with the rate of exchange on the date of payment.

If there were a single exchange rate for gold, this would naturally be used. However, if there is a "free" exchange rate and also an "official" exchange rate on

the date of transit, which should be used? This is the problem.

The "Border and Coast Health Directorate General," which is charged with collecting

ships* health duties, asked the Republic of Turkey Central Bank Exchange Directorate

how to calculate the equivalent of gold francs in Turkish currency. An official

exchange rate for gold was accepted using the calculations made in accordance with

the answer received. If there were no official exchange rate for gold, the matter

would be wide open.

[Question] I think that a floating value was, in any case, sought at Montreux,

wasn't it?

[Answer] The Montreux Treaty wanted the amounts of duties to be collected by

Turkish officials to correspond to indices for the prices of goods through the gold

franc — in other words, through their determination and establishment based on

gold; wanted Turkey to be protected against reductions in the value of the nation's

currency; and wanted Turkish officials to be guaranteed that they could always obtain true value despite these types of changes. Such goals can only be reached

through application of a floating market value (exchange rate) for gold. The use

of the 1973 rate of exchange for gold and the freezing of the figures at the value

at that time by the Central Bank Exchange Directorate General completely conflicts

with the goals pursued by the Montreux Treaty and prevents them from being realized.

The use of the word, approximately, in Appendix No 1, "At present, 100 kurush is

equivalent to approximately 2 francs, 50 centimes," demonstrates that a floating

market value for gold is to be applied for exchange operations in keeping with the

goal of the agreement.

[Question] Are there other similar applications in agreements based on gold?

[Answer] In the application of various international agreements which accept the

Poincare franc as the computation unit, the same problem emerged when converting

k6
the franc into a nation's currency. In a decision dated 10 January 1974, the Athens

Court of Appeal ruled that it is necessary to use the Athens Exchange price of gold

on the date of the decision as the basis for the collection procedure. The Swedish

Göteborg Court, in a decision dated 2 October 1973 dealing with an accident (collision) at sea, also gave the opinion that the market value of gold on the date of

the accident must be taken as the foundation.

In Turkey, our Supreme Court of Appeal, too, reached the decision that the free

market price of gold on the date of payment must be the principle behind payment

of gold debts with paper money. (Joint opinion dated 20 June 1956, Opinion

No 9/13.)

It is seen that, even if, for a moment, it is supposed and acknowledged that there

are two prices for gold — an official and a free-market price, — it is imperative,

legally as much as from the standpoint of the goals of the Montreux Treaty, to utilize the free-market price of gold when converting the gold franc into Turkish currency.

[Question] Last month, a new practice was begun by means of a decision. How did

this come about?

[Answer] When the practice that was being carried out produced incorrect results

in the manner I have described, I explained the state of affairs to the Border and

Coast Health Directorate General and then to the Central Bank Exchange Directorate

General in Ankara on 5 April 1982 and to the Maritime Undersecretariat on 21 April

1982. In addition, I presented the situation to the Northern Seas Regional Commandant-at a meeting in which we discussed Istanbul's maritime problems. The commandant, which exhibited a close interest in the problem in regard to its relation with

its area of responsibility and authority, after reaching the opinion that the view

I advanced was valid, pursued the topic at top-level state offices and was highly

instrumental in the transition to a correct application. I consider it my duty to

say this.

When the Prime Minister»s Office became aware of the problem, it first asked related

ministries for written opinions, and, despite the fact that all the answers it received were positive, it was dissatisfied and had all sides of the question examined

again in a commission of ministers formed under a notice dated 19 August 1982. The

setting down of all objections that could be put forward against the new view and

of all the replies to these objections and the reasoning behind them was ordered

from the commission. When the commission's investigation produced the same positive

conclusion, the Central Bank was assigned the function, in order to make a transition to the new practice, of establishing and announcing daily the exchange rate of

gold, taking into account its value on international exchanges. Later, as is known,

the new application was instituted.

[Question] The method of computation as much as the essence of the new practice

created a reaction within maritime trade circles. Will you assess the objections

to the computation method?

^7
[Answer]] Spokesmen for the criticisms you speak of sent telegrams to the Prime

Minister's Office and related offices.

The Maritime Trade Federation telegram dated 26 November 1982 reads, "In fact, at

an IMF general council meeting held in 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, a new, international

theoretical monetary unit called a 'Special Drawing Right' (SDR, for short) was established, and the value of an SDR was set, theoretically, at 3.061 gold francs."

The Istanbul Chamber of Maritime Trade notice dated 30 November 1982 states, "As we

reported in our two related telegrams and as will become known, the value of 3.061

gold francs was established theoretically as equal to an SDR at the 1979 IMF general

council meeting, and the immutability of this was accepted."

These statements do not conform with the truth. There was no such IMF meeting or

decision. To the contrary, as I said previously, by changing the IMF status, relations with gold were cut off, and the tie between gold and the SDR was also eliminated. A decision in the form they speak of was a decision taken within the structure of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and in the direction of its characteristics

and needs. It has no connection whatsoever with the IMF and the Montreux Treaty.

11673

CSO: 5200/4701 END

1+8