§ 30. Mr. ARNOTTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that two British trawlers, the "Hove" of Grimsby and the "Lord Weir" of Hull, were arrested in the month of September by the Norwegian authorities off Sylte Fjord, north coast of Norway, for fishing in Norwegian territorial waters at a point between three and four miles from land, and were convicted and heavily fined, the Hull skipper having to pay in all 5,100 kroners or £281; and whether, as Great Britain only recognises territorial waters within a three miles limit, he will say what steps, if any, he proposes to take to safeguard the rights of British fishermen on the high seas and to reach agreement with other nations regarding the definition of territorial waters?
Mr. A. HENDERSONI am aware of the arrest of these trawlers, and I have received a report on the subject from His Majesty's Minister at Oslo. The points raised are receiving careful consideration. In reply to the second part of the question, the extent of territorial waters in International Law was considered at the recent Conference at The Hague on the Codification of International Law, but that Conference broke up without any definite agreement being reached on this point.
§ Mr. MACQUISTENWill the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of extending similar treatment to foreign trawlers entering the Moray Firth and the Firth of Clyde?