Fisheries Convention


The Fisheries Convention or the London Fisheries Convention is an international agreement signed in London in relation to fishing rights across the coastal waters of Western Europe, in particular the fishing rights in the North Sea, in the Skagerrak, in the Kattegat and on the European Atlantic coast. It gives right of full access to the fishing grounds between 6 and 12 nautical miles of the national coastline to the fishing industry of those contracting parties that had already been fishing there in the period 1953–1962.
This agreement is largely superseded to the Common Fisheries Policy, as all parties are members of the European Union.

Background and negotiations

Between Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom the "International Convention for regulating the police of the North Sea fisheries outside territorial waters" of 1888 applied which allowed fishing in each other's waters up to 3 miles from the coast line. The United Kingdom denounced this convention in 1963 in order to allow setting up a 12-mile exclusive fishery zone. After denunciation it invited the parties to that convention and several others to negotiate on several issues related to fisheries, which resulted in the Fisheries Convention.
Negotiations took place between the parties of the European Economic Communities, the European Free Trade Association, the Commission of the EEC, as well as Iceland, Ireland and Norway.

Parties

The convention has 12 parties, while 1 signatory signed but did not ratify.
Poland is a non-signatory which acceded to the convention after its entry into force.
PartyRatification/
Accession		Entry into forceSupersededDenunciation/
Withdrawal		Territorial scope

all coasts

 coasts in the North Sea, in the Skagerrak and in the Kattegat

The North Sea, the English Channel and the European Atlantic coasts


The North sea coast

all coasts

not ratified

The North Sea coast


coasts north of the 36th parallel and the coasts of Madeira

coasts north of the 36th parallel

west coast, north of a line drawn from The Kullen to Gilbjerg Head

,All coasts, including those of the and of the Channel Islands

Denunciation and withdrawal

The convention can be denounced from 20 years of its entry into force after a two years' notice.
On 2 July 2017 the United Kingdom Government announced that it would withdraw from the Fisheries Convention. Formal notice of the "denunciation" was given the next day, 3 July 2017. The New Scientist observed that this was probably the first time a country had withdrawn from an international agreement named after its own capital city.