Page 92 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf) 1907-1953

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fisheries in the Persian Gulf, I entered into
communication with the Foreign Office with a
view to obtaining the opinion of the Law Oflicors
of tho Crown upon the legal and international
points raised by your Excellency’s Government.
“ 2. I inclose herewith, for tho information and
guidance of tho Government of India, a copy of
the correspondence.*
“3. Your Excellency will see that tho Law
Officers of tho Crown have no doubt as to the
rights of the tribes in such waters as may justly
be considered territorial. Outside territorial
waters, they are inclined to hold that tho exclu­
sive rights of the tribes might be maintained
to banks in regard to which their exclusive
possession is capable of historical proof; but
they consider that tho point is not free from
doubt. In regard to the deeper waters, they are
of opinion that there would be no reasonable
oh&noe of assorting with success the right of
the tribes to debar other nations from dredging.
“ 4. In these circumstances, I agree with the
general conclusion at which tho Law Officers of
the Crowu have arrived, viz., that it is not
expedient to rniso the question internationally
by forcibly preventing vessels of foreign
nationalities from fishing on the banks. The
objeot in view may probably be attainable by
indirect methods.”

Summary,
The situation in regard to the pearl fisheries
may be summarized as follows :—
The Law Officers of the Crown have laid it
down that outside territorial limits, in the
deeper waters, there would be no reasonable
chance, on grounds of international law, of
asserting with success the right of the tribes to
debar other nations from dredging. On the
other hand, it is apprehended that dredging
operations, if carried out on scientific principles,
even in the deeper waters alone, would seriously
endanger the success of the pearl fishing on tho
banks, in regard to which the tribes may estab­
lish exclusive rights.
The conclusion formulated in 1905 was accord­
ingly that foreign vessels should not forcibly be
• Not printed.