335. Telegram From the Delegation to the Conference on the Law of the Sea to the Department of State1

757. From USDel Law of Sea. To Dulles from Dean. Head British DelUK Attorney General just returned from Cabinet meeting advised last night as follows:

(1) Cabinet cannot accept Canadian proposal for three miles territorial and nine-mile contiguous exclusive fishing zone or any exclusive fishing rights beyond territorial waters. Advised would ruin their commercial fishing off Iceland and northern Norwegian waters and seriously affect their fishing communities. (2) Will support US on three miles completely but believe without some concession we cannot marshal necessary one-third minority to defeat extension to twelve miles or even greater distance. (3) Their admirality has advised cabinet that they could live operationally by extension to six miles with right to overfly and with innocent passage for warships without notification for outer three and wanted our consent to take up at Washington by head their government with ours. (4) We advised our instructions were to do all possible maintain three miles and any change would have to come from Washington. We further advised we did not believe going to six apart from difficult naval operational problems would give fishery people of other countries enough to sell them as it really solves no fisheries problems whatsoever. We stated that from fisheries’ standpoint we dislike Canadian proposal as much as they do but it came down to question of what was necessary to satisfy those now seeking far greater extension fishery rights. (5) Joint meeting with British and [Page 651] Canadians when head latter Del returns from London Wednesday. Canadians have asked for more explicit instructions from Ottawa. (6) British most cooperative and cordial but abundantly clear their commercial fishery interests have forced admiralty to go to at least six miles; and that British cannot accept exclusive fishing jurisdiction of Canadian proposal on eve of their election.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 399.731/3–358. Confidential; Niact. The telegrams from the delegation were numbered in the series of telegrams from the Consulate General at Geneva.