page_title: Lobster War
hierarchical_section_title: Lobster War
caption_attribution_description: English: A Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus)
context_page_description: The Lobster War was a dispute over spiny lobsters which occurred from 1961 to 1963 between Brazil and France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French maintained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore, they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. The dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.
  Although this historical incident of coercive diplomacy may have taken place long before the drafting of the UNCLOS, the dispute ended with the signing of an agreement on 10 December 1964, which granted to twenty-six French ships the right of fishing for a period no longer than five years, on the grounds that they delivered to Brazilian fishermen a certain amount of profit over their fishing activities in the so-called "designated areas".
context_section_description: The Lobster War (also known as the Lobster Operation) was a dispute over spiny lobsters which occurred from 1961 to 1963 between Brazil and France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles (160 km) off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French maintained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore, they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. The dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.
  Although this historical incident of coercive diplomacy may have taken place long before the drafting of the UNCLOS, the dispute ended with the signing of an agreement on 10 December 1964, which granted to twenty-six French ships the right of fishing for a period no longer than five years, on the grounds that they delivered to Brazilian fishermen a certain amount of profit over their fishing activities in the so-called "designated areas".
caption: Caribbean spiny lobster
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