To describe the impounding of a Spanish fishing vessel by the Canadian coastguard as an "act of organised piracy" as Emma Bonino, the European Fisheries Commissioner, has done is both an exaggeration and a misreading of a complex issue. The reaction of the European Union (EU) to Canada's actions has failed to take account of two key considerations: that international fisheries law is hopelessly inadequate in the matter of conservation and that the Spanish fishing fleet is far too big for the good of the world's oceans.
The ship in question, the Estai, was on the high seas at the time of her apprehension and therefore beyond the orthodox limits of national jurisdiction. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea affirms national rights over 200-mile exclusive economic zone, measured from the coastline. The circumstances under which a coastal state may exercise jurisdiction beyond this limit over ships that do not fly its own flag are narrowly circumscribed: they do not, as yet, include protection of the environment.
The fish in question, the turbot, faces extinction from overfishing. It belongs to the category of fish known as "straddling stock" since it is found both within Canada's exclusive economic zone as well as in the adjacent high seas. Overfishing in areas beyond Ottawa's control has made a nonsense of the country's conservation policy within its own zone. Faced with mounting unemployment in its traditional fishing communities, as well as the rapid depletion of its own fish stocks, Canada has taken emergency action.
The resulting furore should draw timely attention to the disturbing holes in international law. The Law of the Sea takes only half-hearted account of the problem of straddling stocks, calling for states "to agree upon the measures necessary for the conservation of these stocks in the adjacent area". The roots of the present dispute lie in the failure of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, of which both Canada and the EU are members, to reach such agreement. The UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stock and Highly Migratory Fish Stock, due to reconvene in New York in a fortnight, could not have been given a more pressing reason to address its agenda with haste.
Britain has particular reason for concern. Stocks of the much-prized Illex squid straddle the high seas and the exclusively British zones around the Falklands. By overfishing squid in international waters adjacent to the Falklands, Spain is again a guilty party and has dealt a blow to the economy of the islands. The Government, which has expressed its wish to take a firm stand, has stated also that its hands are tied in the Grand Banks dispute by the EU's common fisheries policy (CFP).
This is not good enough. The CFP, which is responsible for an annual $54 billion subsidy to Europe's bloated fishing fleets, must be made to reflect the legitimate concerns of this country. It must be made, also, to reflect the urgent global interest in the conservation of fish stocks. Britain must insist on a radical rethinking of the CFP and resist calls to impose sanctions on Canada, which has offered a sensible compromise. Most reforms in the law of the sea have emerged from actions which were, initially, themselves infractions of the law. Canada's action has dealt a blow for conservation. Let the law now reflect its concerns.
