§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs which nations voted in favour of a twelve-mile fisheries limit, and which nations voted against this limit, at the last United Nations Organisation Conference on the Law of the Seas.
§ Mr. R. AllanThe only proposal at the 1958 Conference which specifically and solely provided for a twelve-mile fishery limit was that, sponsored by Canada, which was put forward by the First Committee and which read
A State has a fishing zone contiguous to its territorial sea, extending to a limit twelve nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, in which it has the same rights in respect of fishing and the exploitation of the living resources of the sea as it has in its territorial sea.The thirty-five nations which voted in favour of this proposal were:
Afghanistan, Argentina, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, the Irish Republic, Jordan, the Republic of Korea, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia.The thirty countries which voted against this proposal were:
Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, 90W Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America.Twenty countries abstained from voting.
The proposal failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority and was not adopted.
I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend on 8th April, 1959.
§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs which nations voted in favour of a six-mile fisheries limit, and which nations voted against this limit, at the last United Nations Organisation Conference on the Law of the Seas.
§ Mr. R. AllanThere was no proposal for a six-mile fisheries limit. The United States proposal, however, would have preserved certain established rights between 6 and 12 miles. It stated, in part
The coastal State shall in a zone having a maximum breadth of 12 miles … have the same rights in respect of fishing and the exploitation of the living resources of the sea as it has in its territorial waters; provided that such rights shall be subject to the right of the vessels of any State whose vessels have fished regularly … for the period of five years immediately preceding the signature of this convention, to fish in the outer six miles. …The voting on this proposal was given in my right hon. and learned Friend's reply of 8th April, 1959. There were 45 votes for, 33 against and 7 abstentions.