Fisheries Arbitration

The right of the United States to fish upon the coastal waters of the British colonies on the Atlantic had been a subject of negotiation from the Treaty of Peace between the two countries in 1783 down to the year 1910, when the long standing dispute between them was finally settled by arbitration. By the Treaty of Peace with England, in 1783, the United States obtained the “right” to fish on the banks of Newfoundland and the “liberty” to fish on the coasts, bays, and creeks of the British Dominions in America. In 1814, when the Treaty of Peace was being signed at Ghent, Great Britain refused to re-concede the privilege granted by the Treaty of 1783. In 1815, the United States maintained that the general provisions of the Treaty of 1783 were of a character not to be annulled by a subsequent war, whereas England declared that what was described as a “liberty” in the Treaty of 1783 was terminated by the war of 1812. By the Treaty of 1818 the Ufaited States obtained the right to fish on certain specified coasts of British America without reference to the distance from shore, while as to all other coasts, they were excluded from fishing within three marine miles from the shore. The Treaty of Washington, of 1871, removed the restrictions upon inshore fisheries. Art. XIX. yields a corresponding right to all British subjects as to the Atlantic coasts of the United States north of the 39th parallel, and concedes to each nation the right to import, free of duty, fish and fish oils into the ports of the other. The treaty was to continue in operation for ton years, and further until two years’ notice from either party. In Art. XXII. it Is stated that the British government asserts that these provisions of the treaty would work to her disadvantage. Provision was accordingly made, by the same article, for the appointment of a commission, which was known as the Fisheries Commission, to determine the amount of compensation to be paid by the United States. The tribunal, consisting of three members, met at Halifax, N. S., June 16, 1877, and awarded the sum of $5,500,000 to Great Britain. In 1883 the United States gave notice of the termination, after two years, of the articles of the Treaty of 1871 relating to fisheries. Disputes had arisen as to the following points: What were the “bays” intended by the Treaty of 1818; were the three miles to be measured from sinuosities of the coast, traffic in their catch when putting into the harbor? In 1898 the fisheries question was considered by the Quebec Commission, but without result. Finally, on January 27, 1909, an agreement was signed by the two countries referring the matter to arbitration by the Permanent Court at The Hague. On five of the seven questions presented to the court, the award was favorable to the United States. For the future the reasonableness of the regulations defining the seasons when fish may be taken on the treaty coasts, and the methods and instruments to be used, shall be determined by a Mixed Commission appointed by the two countries.