CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER V.
THE INADEQUACY¹ OF THE THREE-MILE LIMIT FOR FISHERY REGULATIONS.

The recommendation of the International Law Association and of the French Institute that the territorial³ waters should be extended to six miles from the shore, or double the width usually enforced, was avowedly⁴ made, as we have seen, chiefly in the interests of the sea fisheries; and it may be presumed from the opinions of the majority of accredited⁵ writers on the law of nations, as reviewed in these pages, that it is open to any Power so to extend its territorial sea, except in so far as such extension may be opposed to the provisions of treaties with any other Power or Powers. It is undoubtedly⁷ the case that in by far the greater number of instances in which the limits of territorial waters, or the rights of the bordering state in the adjacent sea, have been disputed, or have come under discussion, between one nation and another, it was the right of fishery that was at issue. From the reign⁸ of James I. this has been the case, and it has been exhibited on all coasts, and in almost all countries. How replete⁹ our history is with such disputes may be gathered from foregoing chapters, while nearly all recent international treaties in which limits in the neighbouring sea are dealt with have been concerned with fishery questions. The numerous treaties and agreements with the United States and France respecting the vexed¹⁰ rights of fishing on the coasts of British North America, the North Sea conventions in Europe, and the various other agreements between European Powers, as between Spain and Portugal, Austria and Italy, Denmark and Sweden, Denmark and Germany, Great Britain and France, Belgium and Germany, 694 and with Denmark concerning Iceland, are instances in point. The fishery interest is thus the determining interest, and the one which has made these various conventions desirable.

There appears to be little doubt that, in many cases at least, the three-mile boundary which has been commonly fixed¹¹ in the fishery conventions is inadequate¹² from the point of view of the fisheries, and this is the opinion of most of the experts and authorities, as is explained below. It must not be forgotten that the three-mile limit was selected, not on any grounds special to fisheries, but because it had been already recognised and put into force in connection with the rights of neutrals and belligerents¹³ in time of war, as representing the approximate range of guns at the time. It is in reality a product of the maritime¹⁴ wars in the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, and its application to the right of fishing is accidental and arbitrary. The boundaries which were formerly¹⁵ proposed as limiting the right to exclusive fishery, independently of any question of the rights of neutrals or the range of cannon¹⁶, were invariably greater than three miles. The range of vision was employed in Scotland and on the English coast later; its equivalent of fourteen miles was embodied¹⁷ in the Draft Treaty of union between England and Scotland in 1604, and was proposed again in 1618; and Sir Philip Meadows, the most able opponent of extravagant¹⁸ claims to maritime sovereignty, favoured a similar distance in 1689. Limits of eight miles and ten miles to be enforced against foreigners were fixed in the Fishery Bill passed by the House of Commons in 1660, while as late as 1824 and 1827 the Dutch Government decreed a limit of six miles for their fishermen on the British coasts. We have seen, too, that the wider extent of sea in which rights of exclusive fishery are claimed by the Scandinavian and Iberian states exists in great measure because those Powers established their limit without reference to Bynkershoek’s doctrine¹⁹, and before indeed it became prevalent.

The same need of a wider limit is shown in the municipal legislation of many countries, which was specially²⁰ designed with the object of preserving sea fisheries, as well as in certain international agreements. There are two classes of sea fisheries which have received special treatment beyond the ordinary limits of territorial waters, and both on the same principle—viz., 695 that the action of man, if unrestrained, would lead to their destruction and economic extinction²¹. They are those for marine²² mammals, as seals and cetaceans, and for certain shell-fishes and coral. A considerable number of countries have legislated²⁴ for the preservation²⁵ of seals, and some of the enactments²⁶ at least apply beyond the ordinary limits. Examples may be found in the Canadian statute²⁸ of 1886,1274 which refers also to whales and porpoises²⁹; the Russian law dealing³⁰ with the sealing industry in the White Sea; the Norwegian law fixing a close-time for whales in the Varangerfjord; and the concurrent³¹ international legislation of Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Germany, and Holland concerning the Jan Mayen seal fishery in the Atlantic east of Greenland.1275 A recent instance is afforded by the regulations which were prescribed for British and American citizens and subjects by the Tribunal of Arbitration³² for the purpose of protecting and preserving the fur-seal in Behring Sea. By these regulations the killing³³, capture, or pursuit of this animal was forbidden within a zone of sixty geographical³⁴ miles around the Pribilov Islands, comprising about 15,000 square miles of sea; a close-time was fixed between 1st May and 31st July on the high sea within an immense area—viz., north of 35 degrees North latitude³⁵ and eastwards³⁶ of 180 degrees West longitude³⁷; only specially licensed³⁸ sailing vessels⁴⁰, with canoes or undecked boats propelled by paddles, oars⁴¹, or sails, were at liberty to carry on fur-sealing operations where and when the fishing was allowed; the use of nets, firearms, and explosives was forbidden, except shot-guns outside of Behring Sea, and some minor⁴² conditions were laid down.1276

Another instance is the agreements entered into between Russia on the one hand and Great Britain and the United States 696 on the other, by which a zone of ten marine miles on all the Russian coasts of Behring Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, and a zone of thirty marine miles round the Commander Islands and Robben Island, were closed to sealing for the fur-seal.1277

The other class of fisheries referred to, for sedentary animals 697 connected with the bottom, such as oysters⁴³, pearl-oysters, and coral, which are found in shallow water, as a rule, and usually near the coast, have always been considered as on a different footing from fisheries for floating fish. They may be very valuable, are generally restricted in extent, and are admittedly capable of being exhausted⁴⁵ or destroyed; and they are looked upon rather as belonging to the soil or bed of the sea than to the sea itself. This is recognised in municipal law, and international law also recognises in certain cases a claim to such fisheries when they extend along the soil under the sea beyond the ordinary territorial limit. Cases in point are the pearl-fisheries on the banks in the Gulf⁴⁶ of Manar, Ceylon, which extend from six to twenty-one miles from the coast, and are subject to a colonial Act of 1811, which authorises the seizure⁴⁷ and condemnation⁴⁸ of any boat found within the limits of the pearl-banks, or hovering⁴⁹ near them: boats or vessels navigating⁵⁰ the inner passage are prohibited from hovering or anchoring in water deeper than four fathoms⁵¹, and those navigating the outer passage from hovering or anchoring within twelve fathoms. These pearl-fisheries are very valuable, and have been treated from time immemorial by the successive rulers of the island as subjects of property and jurisdiction⁵²; and the laws referred to apply also to foreigners. Another case is the pearl-fisheries in Australia. In Western Australia certain Acts are applied⁵³ far beyond the three-mile limit, though apparently⁵⁴ only against British subjects,1278 and a similar Act, of 1888, applied in Queensland to extra-territorial waters west of Torres Strait. The pearl-fisheries of Mexico and Columbia are also subject to regulation beyond the ordinary three-mile limit. Examples of extra-territorial jurisdiction over beds of the common edible⁵⁵ oyster⁴⁴ are to be found in the British conventions with France in 1839 and 1867, by which the Bay of Granville was reserved to France (see p. 612), and in the last of these conventions (Article ix.) a close-time was provided in the English Channel; and likewise in the proceedings⁵⁷ concerning the Arklow and Wexford banks, off the Irish coast (see p. 621). Coral-beds in the Mediterranean⁵⁸, off the coasts of Algeria, Sardinia, and Sicily, are in a similar way regulated 698 by Italian and French laws beyond the ordinary three-mile limit.

Even in regard to the class of fisheries for what is termed “floating” fish—that is to say, the ordinary fisheries for sea fishes, carried on usually by nets and lines—there are a number of enactments conferring jurisdiction, or which have conferred jurisdiction, beyond the distance of three miles from shore. Old English and British Acts, previously⁵⁹ referred to (p. 608), fixed limits of four-and-a-half and five miles from the coast, within which distance the use of certain apparatus⁶⁰, as drag-nets and trawls, was prohibited. In the Herring Fishery Act of 1808, which provided for the appointment of commissioners⁶¹ for the herring fishery, and for the regulation of the fishery and the curing of herrings, jurisdiction was extended over “all persons” engaged in catching⁶², curing, and dealing in fish in all the lochs, bays, and arms of the sea, and also within ten miles of the coasts.1279 At the Isle⁶³ of Man an Act of Tynwald prohibited herring-fishing at a certain season within nine miles of the shore,1280 and other instances might be given where municipal Acts extended jurisdiction beyond the ordinary three-mile limit for similar purposes.

It is, however, in connection with the great development of trawl-fishing from steamers in recent years, that the question of the inadequacy of the ordinary three-mile limit for the preservation and regulation of fisheries has been brought to the front, and it is around this method of fishing that most of the 699 controversies⁶⁴ affecting the territorial waters, at least in Europe, have gathered.1281 It is therefore necessary to understand something about it, and how it is that it has given rise to demands for the extension of the ordinary limits and for the closure of large areas beyond these limits. It is the most effective and at the same time the most destructive method of fishing ever made use of. It differs from hook-and-line fishing, in which only a few kinds of fish are taken at the same time, according to the size of the hook and the kind of bait, and from gill-net or drift-net fishing, which is adapted, according to the dimensions of the mesh⁶⁵, to capture a particular fish, as herring or mackerel. Trawling consists essentially⁶⁶ in dragging along the bottom of the sea a great bag of netting, which captures a large variety of fishes, big and little; and it may involve, at certain places and in certain seasons, the destruction of immense quantities of edible fishes too small to be marketable, and which are thrown back, dead, into the sea.1282 It is a very old method, but until about a century ago it was confined on the British coast to the mouth of the Thames and neighbourhood and to certain localities in the Channel, its headquarters being Barking and Brixham. Trawling was then restricted to shallow water; the boats were small and the trawls were such as a man could carry on his shoulders. At the close of the French war, Brixham trawlers began to migrate eastwards, prospecting⁶⁷ for new grounds, fixing their temporary headquarters first at Dover, then at Ramsgate in 1818, and at Harwich in 1828. Continuing their explorations, the Dutch coast was visited about 1830 and the southern part of the Dogger Bank a few years later, and in 1837 a great impetus⁶⁸ was given to trawling by the discovery of enormous quantities of soles in the Great Silver Pit, south of the Dogger. Trawlers flocked thither⁶⁹ from all quarters; the Brixham men fixed upon Hull⁷⁰, first as their temporary, and then as their permanent home, and from this time North Sea trawling was firmly established. It was not until 1858, little more than half a century ago, that trawlers began to be employed from Grimsby, which is now by far the greatest fishing-port in the world. Gradually the 700 enlarging fleets of trawlers pushed northwards and eastwards as new grounds were discovered. By 1860 the whole of the Dutch coast and the coast of Schleswig was frequented; ten years later the Danish coast was included, and, for the first time, the whole of the Dogger Bank, as well as large areas north and west of it, off the coast of England and Scotland. About 1875 the Great Fisher Bank, which lies about 200 miles east of the Scottish coast, began to be visited, and in 1891 the English trawlers boldly pushed on to Iceland, where enormous catches of fish were obtained.

During this period, while the fishing-grounds were being vastly extended, great improvements were made in the means of catching the fish and bringing them to market. The trawling vessels gradually increased in numbers, size, speed, and storage capacity; the trawl-net grew larger and more efficient; the use of ice for the preservation of the fish enabled distant grounds to be visited, and the deeper waters of the north necessitated⁷¹ the substitution of steam-power for hand-labour in hauling the nets on board; the “fleeting” system, by which steam-carriers collected the fish each morning and brought them rapidly to market, allowed the fleets of sailing smacks⁷³ to remain on the grounds constantly fishing for many weeks at a time. Then the industry was revolutionised by the substitution of steam vessels for the sailing smacks, a change which began about 1878; and trawling, which was at first a summer occupation owing to the frailty⁷⁴ of the boats, and then a winter pursuit, as plenty of wind was required to drag the heavier nets, became independent of the season, and almost of the weather. A further improvement was the introduction in 1895 of the otter-trawl instead of the unwieldy beam-trawl, the mouth of the net being kept open by the divergence⁷⁵ of two boards, one at each side, on the principle of the kite. This allowed the net to be made very much larger, and also to be used in much deeper water, and commercial trawling is now carried on in depths down to about 200 fathoms.

There has thus occurred during the last generation or so an enormous development in the extent and efficiency of trawl-fishing. The British fleet since about 1885 has grown from some 200 small vessels, of twenty to twenty-four tons, and using trawls of from twenty to thirty feet beam, to an aggregate⁷⁶ of 3170 vessels in 1907, of which 1609 were steamers 701 and 918 deep-sea sailing smacks.1283 These figures, however, convey but little impression of the real increase in the catching power. It has been computed⁷⁸, both by practical men and by scientific experts, that the modern steam otter-trawler is approximately eight times more effective in catching fish than was one of the large sailing smacks of a generation ago,1284 and thus the British deep-sea trawling fleet in 1907 was equal to about 13,790 of the older sailing smacks. But in addition to these there are the foreign steam-trawlers which fish on the same grounds, for many other countries have followed the English example in developing deep-sea trawling. The aggregate number of such vessels at the end of 1907 was about 634, of which 224 were French, 239 German, and 81 Dutch;1285 and they would represent 5072 sailing smacks, so that the total trawling fleet of Western Europe was then equal to about 18,862 of the sailing trawlers of twenty or thirty years ago, the sailing trawlers in use on the Continent being left out of account. It has been calculated that the area of the sea-bottom which is swept each day by the nets of this great fleet is equal to about 2000 square miles.

Now, this extraordinary extension of trawl-fishing in recent times bears upon the question of territorial waters in two ways. One relates to the impoverishment⁷⁹ of the older fishing-grounds near the coast and in the North Sea. The other relates to the incursion of steam-trawlers on foreign coasts as affecting the fishing of the inhabitants of such coasts.

With regard to the first, there have been many inquiries⁸⁰ made by Royal Commissions and Parliamentary Committees, as well as by fishery departments and experts, which show that the excessive fishing has depleted⁸¹ the older banks. In the first of these inquiries, which began in 1863, when there were only from 650 to 700 smacks trawling in the North Sea (and then only in a part of it), the reporters expressed their belief 702 that this method of fishing “in the open sea” was not wastefully⁸² destructive, and required no legislative⁸⁴ interference, for if any ground were over-fished, the fishing there would become unprofitable, and the trawlers would go elsewhere.1286 The next Commission, in 1878, by which time trawling had greatly developed, came to much the same general conclusions; but they found that a decrease of soles had occurred, and also a decrease of plaice and flounders in some localities, and they recommended that power should be given to the Secretary of State to forbid trawling “in any of the territorial seas,” which power was conferred in 1881.1287 This inquiry⁸⁵ was noteworthy as first revealing complaints by the trawlers themselves of the diminution⁸⁶ of certain fish and the impoverishment of inshore grounds, and for the advocacy by Grimsby smack⁷²-owners of the prohibition⁸⁷ of trawling at localities where small fish abound⁸⁸, as the inlets on the Dutch and German coast, the Wash, and off Yarmouth, and even within a nine-mile limit all round the shores of the North Sea. At the next Commission of inquiry, in 1883, the complaints of the trawlers were stronger, and the remedies they proposed more drastic. Those of Hull and Grimsby stated that the numbers of flat fishes, particularly soles, had much diminished; that the nearer grounds were impoverished⁸⁹, and that they had to go much greater distances for their supplies of fish. They expressed the belief that most damage was being done by trawling along the coasts, especially on the Continental⁹⁰ side of the North Sea, and that the most effectual remedy would be to prohibit trawling within a ten-mile limit around the whole of the North Sea coasts. The conclusions reached by the Commission were that soles had decreased, and also flat fishes and haddocks in many parts of the territorial waters between Grimsby and the Moray Firth, and they recommended that the Scottish Fishery Board should receive powers to regulate or suspend trawling within territorial waters.1288 703

Fig⁷⁷. 26.—Showing the three-mile limit and a thirteen-mile limit in the North Sea. 704

From this time onwards the demand of the trawlers for some legislative restrictions⁹² on trawl-fishing increased to a clamour. At a conference of practical fishermen held in 1883, in connection with the International Fisheries Exhibition at London, statements were made by trawlers as to the enormous destruction of under-sized fish and the depletion⁹³ of the grounds, and a resolution was passed calling upon the Government to bring about an international conference to consider the desirability of recommending legislation.1289 At another conference, in 1888, they declared that a large and distressing⁹⁴ diminution of flat-fishes had occurred in the North Sea; that they viewed the future with alarm unless some steps were immediately taken to protect immature⁹⁶ fishes; and they called upon the Government to try to arrange for an international law for the purpose.1290 As no result followed from the representations to the Government, the trawl-owners on the East Coast took independent action in 1890, and formally agreed, as a preliminary step, to prevent their trawlers from fishing in the summer within a very large area of extra-territorial water off the German and Danish coasts, where immature fish were generally caught in great abundance. The line of closure of this area extended along the coast for 130 miles, passing, to the west of Heligoland, at a distance varying from twenty 705 706 to over fifty miles from the shore, and embracing no less than about 3600 square (geographical) miles of water lying outside the three-mile limit as defined by the North Sea Convention. The Conference also pressed for legislation of a national and international character to prevent the sale and purchase of immature fish, and they defined what they meant by that term.1291 For some time at least the vessels of the great trawling companies abstained⁹⁷ from fishing within the large area above referred to, but the voluntary arrangement fell through owing to the action of independent “single-boaters,” and the grounds were never effectually closed. The Government went so far to meet the wishes of the trawlers as to issue, through the Foreign Office, invitations from the National Sea Fisheries Protection Association to various Continental Governments to send delegates to a conference in 1890, and representatives from Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain attended a meeting at Fishmongers’ Hall in that year, but no representative of this country was present in an official capacity. Statements of the usual kind were made as to the impoverishment of the fishing-grounds and the necessity of remedial measures in order to keep up the fish supply, and it was 707 resolved, in view of an official international conference being called, to circulate a set of questions regarding the scientific and statistical⁹⁸ aspect of the subject.1292

Fig. 27.—Showing the area of the Small-fish Grounds, which the English trawlers desired to have closed for the preservation of immature fish.

The complaints continuing as to the deterioration⁹⁹ of the fisheries, the Government in 1893 appointed a select Committee of the House of Commons to inquire into their condition and to report as to what remedies might be required. The trawlers again gave strong evidence as to the impoverishment of the grounds in the North Sea from over-fishing, the banks having been “fished out” in succession as they were discovered, so that they were compelled to go to distant regions, as Iceland and the Bay of Biscay, to keep up the supplies. Some of them still pressed for an extension beyond the three-mile limit and the prohibition of trawling within ten miles from the shore, especially on the foreign coasts on the eastern side of the North Sea, and in particular that large areas in the extra-territorial waters should be closed by international agreement. The prohibition of the sale of immature flat fishes was also strongly advocated as an indirect means of closing these grounds. The Committee reported that the evidence of all classes of witnesses, “whether trawlers or linesmen, smack-owners 708 or fishermen, scientific experts or statisticians,” showed that a considerable diminution had occurred among the more valuable classes of flat-fishes in the North Sea, which was to be attributed to over-fishing by trawlers in certain localities; and they recommended that the sale of undersized flat-fishes should be forbidden, and that the three-mile limit should be extended for fishery purposes alone, provided it could be effected on an international basis.1293

It does not appear that any action was taken by the British Government in consequence of this report; and as the trawlers had failed to get the large area of the German and Danish coasts closed to them directly, they got a Bill introduced into Parliament to prohibit the sale of undersized flat-fishes, in the belief that an enactment²⁷ of that kind would result in closing the grounds indirectly¹⁰⁰. The reasoning on which they proceeded was this. Trawling, to be remunerative¹⁰¹, depends upon the capture of a variety of fishes, and it is not possible by an enlargement of the mesh of the net to allow of undersized flat-fishes escaping, without also and at the same time permitting the escape of numerous large marketable round-fishes, as haddocks, as well as of many marketable soles, and fishing under such conditions would be unprofitable. It was also known that it would be futile¹⁰³ to return to the sea the undersized fishes after they had been brought on board, because in commercial trawling they are dead or moribund¹⁰⁴, and might as well be taken ashore¹⁰⁵ as thrown back into the water. It was admitted that the only effective way to protect the immature 709 fish was to prevent the trawl from being used on the grounds; and if this could not be done by direct closure of the area, it might be accomplished¹⁰⁶ by prohibiting the sale of undersized flat-fishes generally; for on these particular “small fish” grounds, or “nurseries,” large fishes are so scarce that trawling is remunerative only by reason of the great quantity of small fishes taken. If the sale of these were forbidden, then trawling in such localities would cease. For an enactment of this kind to succeed, it was obviously necessary that it should apply to the whole kingdom, and it was opposed by fishermen on other parts of the coast; and as it was felt to be extremely problematical whether it would secure the cessation of trawling on the small-fish grounds without at the same time injuriously affecting the fisheries on our own coast and raising the price of fish, the Bill was abandoned. Several subsequent Bills of the same kind shared the same fate, usually after a more or less exhaustive inquiry by a Parliamentary Committee. One of those Committees, consisting of thirteen members of the House of Commons, took evidence in 1900 from the representatives of the trawlers and others, of the character previously described, advocates of the Bill admitting that in their view it was a tentative measure, and that the direct closure of the grounds would be preferable. The Committee thought that it was proved beyond all doubt that there was a serious diminution of flat-fishes, particularly in the North Sea; that the ancient fishing-grounds were much depleted; that the evil was a growing one, and that in default of a remedy the consequences would be disastrous¹⁰⁷ to the industry.1294 One of the causes of the diminution was found to be the vast destruction of immature 710 fish, the direct remedy for which, the Committee said, was either the prohibition of the taking and killing of such fish, or the prohibition of fishing within areas where small fish abound. They were of opinion that the former was practically impossible without prohibiting trawling altogether, while the areas where the small fish congregate¹⁰⁸ could only be closed by a joint¹⁰⁹ international arrangement. The indirect remedy was that proposed by the Bill, and, for reasons such as are stated above, they felt it would not be expedient¹¹⁰ to pass the Bill into law without further inquiry and investigation¹¹¹. The Committee were of opinion that the subject of the diminution of the fish supply was a very pressing one, and that the situation was going from bad to worse, and they recommended that no effort should be spared, first, to arrange for international treatment of the subject generally, and especially for regulation of the North Sea area; and second, to provide for the adequate equipment of the Government Departments in charge of the subject.1295

The trawlers still pressed for legislation to deal with the wasteful⁸³ destruction of undersized fish, and continued to pass resolutions on the subject;1296 and another and somewhat modified Bill was introduced into the House of Lords in 1904 by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and remitted¹¹² to a select Committee of that House. The Committee, after taking much evidence of the usual kind, stated their opinion that the ideal manner of protecting the fishing-grounds in the North Sea where young fish abound would be by an international agreement between all the Powers concerned, and they expressed the hope that the Government would not relax its efforts to secure 711 such a convention. It was thought that, as the first step towards attaining¹¹³ this result, the Bill ought to be passed into law; but the opposition¹¹⁴ to it was too strong, and it shared the fate of its numerous predecessors¹¹⁵.1297

The statements of the trawlers that the older fishing-grounds are impoverished, particularly those in the North Sea, are borne out by the results of statistical and scientific inquiries. It was calculated by Professor W. Garstang that the average catch of bottom fishes, per fishing unit, decreased in the North Sea in the ten years 1889 to 1898 from 60·6 to 32·3; or, in other words, that while the average take of each trawling smack in 1889 was sixty tons, it was only about thirty-two tons in 1898.1298 The official statistics published annually¹¹⁶ by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries show that the quantity of bottom fishes taken from the North Sea is declining, while on the other hand the quantity landed in this country from distant waters is greatly increasing.1299

This brings us to the second point, in which the immense development of trawling touches upon the question of territorial waters—namely, the flocking of the trawlers to new grounds on foreign coasts. As the North Sea became, comparatively 712 speaking, more and more exhausted, the vessels were compelled to go farther and farther away in order to maintain the supply.1300 The grounds at Iceland, now so important 713 not only to the British trawlers but to the Germans and the French, were first visited in 1891, and those in the neighbourhood of the Far?e Islands a little later. The operations of the trawlers were at first limited to the south-east coast, but the catches were so enormous, and the enterprise so profitable, that large and seaworthy vessels were specially built for this fishing, which became one of the most important for the English markets.1301 Then the grounds in the Bay of Biscay and those on the coasts of Spain and Portugal began to be frequented, mostly from about the year 1902; and in the next year the operations of the trawlers were extended farther south to the coast of Morocco, as far at least as Agadir (20 deg. N. latitude), and even in some cases to the coast of Mauritania in French West Africa. The vessels fishing in these southern regions, many of them being fitted with refrigerating rooms, land a considerable proportion of their fish in Portugal and elsewhere. A year or two later, in 1905, the enterprising English trawlers opened up new grounds far away to the north-east in Barents Sea, at the very borders of the perpetual ice of the Arctic regions, and increasing numbers make the long double voyage of some 3500 miles thither every summer, and bring back from the neighbourhood of Cape¹⁰² Kanin great quantities of plaice for the English markets.

Fig. 28.—Chart showing the Fishing-grounds frequented by British trawlers. Depths under 100 metres represented in black; those from 100 to 200 metres in shading. From Report of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries for 1906.

Thus the great enterprise and energy of British trawlers, supported by large capital, have enabled them to exploit the available grounds from far beyond the Arctic circle almost to the tropics, and it is from those distant regions that an increasing proportion of the fish supply is being drawn¹¹⁷.1302 The influx¹¹⁸ of alien vessels, the most powerful and efficient fishing machines in existence, along these foreign coasts is not, as was naturally to be expected, viewed with satisfaction by the native fishermen. They see the fishing-grounds which they had so long 714 been accustomed to consider as their own—in many cases lying within the territorial waters preserved to them by the laws of their own country, though possibly outside “the ordinary three-mile limit”—invaded and exploited by foreigners, and their own livelihood¹¹⁹ threatened. They fear that what has occurred in the North Sea will happen along their own coasts; that the fishing-grounds, often of limited extent, will be impoverished and exhausted for the sole benefit of the foreigners, and their efforts to maintain themselves and their families rendered difficult or impossible. They observe from their boats the immense hauls of fish made by the huge trawl-nets, and the great waste that is often involved.1303 One cannot be surprised that the fishermen, and those who sympathise with them, feel indignation at the invasion of their waters by foreign trawlers, and that great meetings have been held, as in Spain and Portugal, to demand redress¹²⁰, and that at least the same limit as applies to natives pursuing similar methods should be enforced on the foreigners, or an international conference called to arrange for an equitable¹²¹ limit, or equitable treatment, which would have regard for the rights of all concerned.1304

From the foregoing description of the problems associated 715 with the modern development of trawling, it will not be difficult to understand the scope and nature of the legislation which has been devised in various countries to preserve the native fisheries for the inhabitants of the coast. It may be said that in practically all of them, trawl-fishing is either entirely¹²² prohibited within territorial waters or is subjected to various regulations, for the most part with the view of allowing minor forms of trawling, as that for shrimps¹²³, to be carried on. In those countries which have a zone of territorial water extending beyond the ordinary three-mile limit, it is prohibited within that zone, as in Norway, Spain, and Portugal, and even up to twelve miles from the shore; while in some others in which three miles is in use as the ordinary limit for exclusive fishing, trawling is forbidden at distances beyond that limit. In Italy and Austria steam-trawling is not allowed within five miles of the coast. In Scotland and Ireland it is prohibited in certain specified¹²⁴ waters, which extend much beyond a three-mile boundary. As recent legislation, or byelaws made with the authority of Parliament, bearing upon these prohibitions¹²⁵ have given rise to much controversy¹²⁶, it is desirable to consider them with a little care.

In England, where the administration of the local fisheries around the coast is in the hands of various Sea Fisheries District Committees, numerous byelaws have been made and are in force, with the sanction of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, prohibiting or regulating trawling of one kind or another in the waters under the control of the Committees. None of the byelaws appear to apply to parts of the sea beyond the ordinary three-mile zone, though it is open to question whether the wording of the Act, by which the Committees were created, does not give power in that direction.1305 716

The Irish Fishery Department have made a very large number of byelaws, at various times and under various Acts, for the regulation or prohibition of trawling. Of these some forty-four are at present in force, twenty-two applying to all trawling and twenty-two to steam trawling alone, and one or two of them date from the years 1842 and 1851.1306 Under these byelaws trawling in one form or another is prohibited entirely or under certain conditions at most parts of the coast of Ireland; and on certain parts of the coast not inconsiderable stretches of the sea, beyond the three-mile limit and the limit for bays as defined in the fishery conventions, are closed against this method of fishing. The lines around the coast within which trawling is prohibited, in many instances pass between headlands which may be as much as twenty-six, and even forty-three, miles apart; not infrequently they are drawn, not between headlands, but from one light-ship to another, and these light-ships may be four or five miles from land and twenty miles apart. Sometimes the closing line is placed three miles to the seawards of such base-lines; and they may pass from about two to seven or eight miles outside the limit as defined in the conventions, and in some instances up to ten or eleven miles from low-water mark on the shore.

It is obvious that the principle upon which these lines have been drawn has been one of convenience. They differ entirely from the lines of closure in the two Scottish Firths referred to below, which are inter² fauces terr? with the lines passing from headland to headland. But all the lines on the Irish coast are well within the range of guns from the shore, and are thus, according to the Law of Nations, within the territorial sea. The aggregate area beyond the ordinary limits of the conventions amounts to a little over 400 square (geographical) miles.

It does not appear that foreign trawlers have been found contravening¹²⁷ the Irish byelaws to any great extent. Between June 1904 and September 1905 seven steam-trawlers and one sailing-trawler were captured fishing within the limits, one of the former being registered in a foreign country, and, with regard to it, the official report says “it was found impossible 717 to enforce the order made by the magistrates¹²⁸ against the owner and skipper.” It is added that “it is thought, however, that means have been found within the existing law of compelling foreign trawlers to observe the byelaws affecting Irish territorial waters.”1307

It is, however, with reference to the legislation for Scotland, under which certain areas are closed against trawling, that the main controversies have been raised. Several statutes¹²⁹ gave power to the Fishery Board for Scotland to regulate trawling. The first was an Act of 1881,1308 which empowered the Board of Trade to restrict or prohibit this method of fishing “in any area being part of the sea adjoining the United Kingdom, and within the territorial waters of Her Majesty’s dominions¹³⁰, within the meaning of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, 1878” (see p. 591); which power was transferred to the Scottish Board by subsequent Acts.1309 Then the Sea Fisheries (Scotland) Amendment¹³¹ Act, of 1885,1310 empowered the Board to make byelaws for restricting or prohibiting, either entirely or subject to such regulations as might be provided, any method of fishing “in any part of the sea adjoining Scotland, and within the exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands,” when they were 718 satisfied that such mode of fishing was injurious to any kind of sea fishing within that part, or in order to make experiments and observations to ascertain¹³² this, or for fish-culture: and such byelaw was not to be valid¹³³ until it had been confirmed by the Secretary for Scotland. Several byelaws under this Act were made, prohibiting trawling within certain areas on the coast of Scotland within the ordinary limits.1311 It may well be questioned, in view of the definition of the “territorial waters of Her Majesty’s dominions” in the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, and of the “exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands” in the Sea Fisheries Act, 1883,1312 whether these powers were restricted to the three-mile limit and to bays whose width was not greater than ten miles; but it is noteworthy that a byelaw with reference to the Firth of Clyde was not confirmed by the Secretary for Scotland, presumably because it was considered at the time to be ultra vires.1313

In 1889, however, an Act was passed which directly prohibited trawling “within three miles of low-water mark of any part of the coast of Scotland” (except the Solway and Pentland Firths), and within the waters specified in a schedule annexed¹³⁴, except in such parts as might from time to time be permitted by byelaws of the Fishery Board; and the Board was further empowered to forbid trawling within any area or areas in the Moray Firth between Duncansby Head and Rattray Point, which may be regarded as its headlands.1314 The waters specified in the schedule included the areas closed under the then existing byelaws, as well as a number of bays, lochs, and areas, the most important of which was “the waters inside a line drawn from Corsewall Point, in the County of Wigton, to the Mull of 719 720 Cantyre, in the County of Argyll”—that is to say, the Firth of Clyde. In this Act, it will be noted¹³⁵, nothing is said about bays, save in this schedule, and an examination of the charts shows that the waters specified in the schedule, twenty-five in number, would all, with a single exception, be included in the limits of exclusive fishing as defined in the North Sea Convention. Presumably the bays on the coast of Scotland which are not mentioned in the schedule do not come under the provisions of this Act beyond the distance of three miles from low-water mark on their shores. The exception referred to is the Firth of Clyde (fig. 29), where the line of closure is about twenty-eight miles in length, within which trawling was directly prohibited by the Act. The area of water outside the ordinary limits of the conventions which is thus embraced amounts to about 380 square (geographical) miles.

Fig. 29.—The Firth of Clyde, showing the line of closure and the ordinary three-mile limit.

Under the section referring to the Moray Firth, a byelaw was passed in 1890 giving effect to its provisions within a straight line drawn from the Ord of Caithness to Craighead near Buckie, the extent of water enclosed, beyond the ordinary limits, being about 310 square miles. This was replaced by another byelaw in 1892, in which the line of closure to trawling was from Duncansby Head to Rattray Head, a distance of about 73 geographical miles, the area of sea enclosed between it and the ordinary limits amounting to approximately 1480 square (geographical) miles (fig. 30). It is this byelaw that has of late given rise to discussion in relation to the operations of foreign trawlers within the Moray Firth, as is explained below.

In 1895 another Bill was introduced into the House of Lords by the Lord Privy¹³⁶ Seal (Lord Tweedmouth), with the object, among other things, of extending a similar jurisdiction over the waters washing the east coast of Scotland. The line at first chosen in this case was a very long one, running along the open coast from Rattray Head to the Farne Islands, a distance of about 120 miles, and passing a little over thirty miles east of Fife Ness.1315 It was proposed later to give power 721 to prohibit trawling in any area or areas within eighteen miles of the coast.1316 In the Act as passed the distance was reduced to thirteen miles from the coast in areas under the jurisdiction of the Crown, and no area was to be so regarded unless the powers conferred had been accepted as binding¹³⁸ upon their own subjects with respect to such area by all the states who were parties to the North Sea Convention.1317 This section of the Act has remained inoperative, and no byelaws have been made under it; and there appears to be no evidence as to whether the views of other Powers have been obtained.

In the Moray Firth, closed to trawling by the byelaw above referred to, foreign trawlers began to make their appearance first of all in 1895, when a Danish vessel³⁹ came. Two years later it returned, and a German trawler also, which was prevented from landing its fish at Aberdeen,—an act of the Crown, which was tested by a case in the Court of Session and upheld by it. In 1898 foreign trawlers appeared in the Firth in considerable numbers, and, it was reported, carried on their operations in such a reckless manner as to involve a great deal of damage to the gear of the net and line fishermen.1318 These vessels appear to have been mainly Danish, but there were a few Belgian, Dutch, and German, and they came for the most part intermittently¹³⁹ and for brief periods, some of them appearing 722 only once or twice in a year. Soon, however, the Firth was invaded by a fleet of trawlers flying the Norwegian flag, although it was known that Norway possessed¹⁴⁰ no steam trawlers,1319 and these vessels fished regularly in the Moray Firth, carrying their fish to Grimsby, where they were landed and sold. It was soon discovered, and admitted, that these trawlers were in reality English, so far as capital, management, and crew were concerned, but they were registered in Norway in order to evade¹⁴¹ the British statute, and they soon obtained a practical monopoly of trawling in the Moray Firth. In 1901 there were fourteen or fifteen of them, but by 1905 they had increased to twenty-nine or thirty; while the visits of trawlers of other nationalities had diminished to nine in 1903, to six in 1904, and to two in each of the three following years. In 1903 and 1904 thirteen convictions were recorded against foreign trawlers, eight in connection with the Moray Firth and five in connection with the Clyde; in 1905 the number rose to fifteen for the Moray Firth and six for the Clyde. In all these cases the charge was for trawling within the ordinary three-mile limit. In 1905 a case was brought against Martin Olsen, the Norwegian “flag-master” of one of the trawlers registered in Norway, the Catalonia, for trawling within the Dornoch Firth in contravention of the Act of 1889, and byelaw No. 2, made under the Act of 1885. The place where the offence was committed was beyond the distance of three miles from the shore, but it was within three miles of the ten-mile base-line across the Dornoch Firth, and therefore within the exclusive fishery limit as defined in the conventions, and within one of the areas scheduled in the Act of 1889. The Sheriff-Substitute at Dornoch sustained Olsen’s plea of no jurisdiction, on the ground that the Catalonia was registered in Norway, and Norway was not one of the Powers signatory to the North Sea Convention. On appeal to the High Court of Justiciary the decision was reversed, the judges holding that the prohibition in the Act of 1889, being quite general in terms, was applicable to foreigners as well as to 723 British subjects, and that it was not for them to draw a distinction which had not been made by Parliament.1320

Fig. 30.—The Moray Firth, showing the line of closure.

This decision was the means of raising the question whether the byelaw did not apply to foreigners equally with British subjects in the whole extent of the Firth, and a series of cases were brought before the Sheriff to test the point. Three prosecutions¹⁴² were instituted, one against Emmanuel Mortensen, a Dane, master of the Niobe, of Sandefjord, Norway, for trawling at a point about five miles off Lossiemouth; another against Thomas Robinson, a British subject, master of the Verbena of Stavanger, Norway, for trawling at a point five miles S.S.E. of Garty Point, Sutherlandshire; and the third against Arthur Lambert, a British subject, fishing-master of the Pinewold, registered at Sandefjord, Norway, for trawling at a distance of seven miles from Tarbetness. Convictions were obtained in all cases in the Sheriff Court of Dornoch, 724 mainly on the same ground as in the above case, that the statute was general and applied to all persons, but Sheriff (now Lord) Guthrie also held that the Moray Firth was within the territorial waters of Scotland.1321

The case in regard to Mortensen was appealed and was heard by the full bench of twelve judges of the High Court of Justiciary, who unanimously upheld the conviction and dismissed the appeal. The leading opinion was delivered by the Lord Justice-General (Lord Dunedin), who treated the question as one of construction, and of construction only, since the court had nothing to do with whether an Act of the Legislature was ultra vires or in contravention of international law; they had only to give effect to it. The terms of the Act, applying to “every person” committing the offence within an area which was precisely¹⁴⁴ defined, made the inference strong that it was meant to apply to all persons whatsoever¹⁴⁵; and this inference was further strengthened by the consideration that the clear object of the Act was to stop trawling, and that object would be defeated or rendered less effective if the prohibition applied only to British subjects, while leaving those of other nations free. With regard to the territorial or non-territorial character of the place where the Niobe had been trawling, Lord Dunedin said that while it might be assumed that within the three-mile limit the territorial sovereignty would be sufficient to cover such legislation, that was not a proof of the counter proposition, that outside the three miles no such result could be looked for. There were at least three points which went far to show that the locus¹⁴⁶ was intra fauces terr?: (1) the dicta of the Scottish Institutional Writers, as Stair and Bell;1322 (2) the fact that the same statute puts forward claims to analogous¹⁴⁷ places, as, e.g., the Firth of Clyde; (3) there were many instances in decided¹⁴⁸ 725 cases where the right of a nation to legislate²³ for waters more or less landlocked, though beyond the three-mile limit, had been admitted. “It seems to me, therefore,” continued Lord Dunedin, “without laying down the proposition that the Moray Firth is for every purpose within the territorial sovereignty, it can at least be clearly said that the appellant cannot make out his proposition that it is inconceivable that the British Legislature should attempt for fishery regulation to legislate against all and sundry¹⁴⁹ in such a place. And if that is so, then I revert¹⁵⁰ to the considerations already stated, which, as a matter of construction, make me think that it did so legislate.” He did not think any argument could be drawn from the definition of “exclusive fishery limit” in the North Sea Convention, inasmuch as the Convention, as a whole, did not deal with what was here in question—viz., mode of fishing; and the Act treated subjects and foreigners alike in the matter.

Lord Kyllachy also held that, on the point of construction, the intention of the Act was that in no part of the area should trawling be practised by anybody; the terms were definite and applied to a quite definite area; it would be easier to suppose that the Legislature had reached even an erroneous conclusion as to the extent of its jurisdiction, than that it had resolved deliberately¹⁵¹ to impose a futile restriction⁹¹ upon its own countrymen and at the same time to create a hurtful monopoly in favour of foreigners. With regard to the territorial or non-territorial character of the Moray Firth, it seemed vain to suggest that according to international law there was any part of it which was simply an area of the open sea, and thus in the same position as if it were situated¹⁵², say, in the middle of the German Ocean. The whole Firth was prima facie a “bay,” with two well-marked headlands, and stretching inwards for many miles into the heart of the country. All that could be said against this was that at its outer end the Firth was very wide, and of a size, if not also of a configuration¹⁵³, somewhat beyond what is usually characteristic of bays and estuaries¹⁵⁴; but that might or might not be so, and the cases of the Bristol Channel, the Firth of Clyde, and the Firth of Forth¹⁵⁵ would have to be considered before the proposition could be affirmed. There was no established rule on the subject in international law, and in particular no rule 726 “so arbitrary and artificial as that of the ten-mile limit measure,” for which the appellant contended. Perhaps the most interesting part of Lord Kyllachy’s opinion concerned the bearing of the North Sea Convention on the case. If the question had been one of exclusive fishing privileges, the bearing of the Convention might have been important. “But exclusive fishing privileges—or, at all events, exclusive fishing privileges as defined by convention—are one thing; territorial jurisdiction, proprietary¹⁵⁶ or protective, is a different thing.... There is certainly nothing in the Convention, at least nothing was brought under our notice, which in the least conflicts with the right of the several contracting nations to impose each of them within its territorial limits (whatever these are) restrictions universally applicable against injurious practices or modes of fishing such as are by this statute and byelaw imposed here. In other words, there is nothing in the statute and byelaw in question which at all interferes¹⁵⁷ with the exclusive fishing privileges of the several nations.” He could not consent to the argument that the Convention had introduced a new chapter into international law establishing, with respect to the definition of bays and estuaries, new and artificial rules. The other judges who gave their reasoned opinions expressed similar views, both as to the construction of the Act, the possibility or probability that the Moray Firth was a territorial bay by the law of nations, and as to the distinction between the limits of exclusive fishing as defined in the Convention and the right of the bordering state to regulate the fishery beyond that limit and within its territorial waters, provided the regulations applied equally to all.1323

It is to be noted that although the question was strictly¹⁵⁸ one of the construction of the Act, the judges had necessarily, in reaching its true meaning, to consider certain aspects of international law in relation to the territorial sea. From the above summary of their opinions, it is evident that the most eminent¹⁵⁹ Scottish lawyers are in agreement with the modern publicists whose views have been referred to in a previous chapter, both in rejecting the three-mile limit as the farthest boundary of territorial sovereignty and as to the ten-mile rule (to say nothing of the six-mile theory) for bays. It may, however, be questioned as to how far the doctrine of independent territorial 727 regulation of fisheries beyond the limit of exclusive fishing, as defined in the Conventions, will be accepted as applied to the signatories of the Conventions. It is not expressly stated in the Conventions that the waters outside the exclusive fishery limits shall be free and common to all; but that is implied even in the title of the last of them,1324 and the Convention, in point of fact, lays down such regulations for the conduct of the fishery, outside the exclusive fishery limits, as appeared to the signatories at the time sufficient for the equitable enjoyment¹⁶⁰ of the common right. It would be easy to conceive of general regulations being applied independently at particular places by one state, which would have the effect of abridging¹⁶¹ the common right of the other states, without affecting the interests of its own subjects—on the principle of the invitations which the fox and the stork¹⁶² issued to one another in the fable¹⁶³. That the intention was to leave the fisheries outside the limits mentioned free, except in so far as the regulations agreed upon affected¹⁶⁴ them, is clear from the proceedings at the conference at The Hague. As regards other states, however, such as Norway, which were not signatories of the Conventions, it is equally clear that, up to the utmost bounds of the territorial waters, regulations may not only be imposed on their subjects, but they may be excluded from the fisheries altogether.

The effect of the decision of the High Court of Justiciary was apparently to keep the foreign trawlers out of the Moray Firth for a short time. But very soon a number of them came back again from Grimsby, with express instructions from the owners to fish in the Moray Firth. On 31st January 1907 six masters, all foreigners, of trawlers registered in Norway, were charged at Elgin Sheriff Court with thirteen separate contraventions of the byelaw, committed between 23rd November and 22nd December 1906, at various distances from about five to twelve miles from the coast; on conviction, penalties of ￡100 or sixty days’ imprisonment¹⁶⁵ were imposed, and five of the men went to prison. On 4th February other two masters of foreign trawlers were convicted of a corresponding offence at Wick Sheriff Court. At the trial at Elgin, the Norwegian Vice-Consul 728 at Aberdeen read a protest, at the instance of the Foreign Minister of Norway, against the conviction of the masters of three of the Norwegian vessels which he named, provided the trawling with which they were charged had taken place “outside the territorial limits.”1325

Representations were also made to the British Foreign Secretary by the Norwegian Minister in London (Dr F. Nansen), and the men were released on 9th February,1326 the decision of the Scottish High Court being thus in effect set aside. It was subsequently explained that in taking this action Norway was merely making a formal stand for the rights of her flag, since the trawlers had been registered in Norway in a legal way, Norwegian subjects were concerned, and no claim had been put forward on behalf of the British Government to the Moray Firth as being territorial in character. In point of fact, the Norwegian Government was in full sympathy with the policy of keeping the pseudo-Norwegian vessels out of the Moray Firth,1327 and they immediately, after the formal protest referred to, issued orders warning all owners of Norwegian trawlers fishing in the Moray Firth to cease from doing so, and not to expect the support of their Government in case of proceedings being taken against them in Scotland.1328 It does not appear that any advantage was taken of this proceeding⁵⁶ for further prosecutions of Norwegians contravening the law; but 729 it was decided to proceed against British subjects who might be found on the foreign vessels which were violating it, and who were undoubtedly under the jurisdiction of British courts. On March 20th twelve cases were brought before the Elgin Sheriff Court, the men charged being the “fishing-masters” of the foreign trawlers,1329 and the only one who appeared was fined fifty pounds for each of three offences, or fifteen days’ imprisonment. A little later, on 17th April, fifteen fishing-masters of foreign trawlers, one of which was Swedish, all British subjects belonging to Grimsby, were charged in the same court for trawling within the Moray Firth outside the ordinary limits, and on conviction small fines were imposed. Similar cases were brought against eleven men in July, who were charged with twenty-eight offences committed between 2nd March and 24th June, and still smaller penalties were imposed.1330

Considerable discussion was evoked¹⁶⁶ by the various occurrences above referred to. Resolutions were passed at various meetings of fishermen in Scotland in favour of the byelaw being strictly enforced, and asking that an international arrangement should be come to if necessary to enable that to be done. At meetings of trawl-owners, on the other hand, held at Grimsby and elsewhere, resolutions to the opposite effect were agreed to, and the Government were requested to maintain the “three-mile international territorial limits as now defined.” In the Houses of Parliament also numerous questions were put to Ministers on the subject, and there were several debates of a more or less formal kind. It appears that the Foreign Office had come to the conclusion that the Act of Parliament as interpreted by the High Court of Justiciary was in conflict with international law;1331 and that view having been taken, it was obvious that it would be necessary, if the statute was to have 730 equal effect on foreigners, that some international arrangement, such as had been previously recommended by the select Committees of the House of Commons and the House of Lords,1332 should be reached. It appears that there would have been no difficulty in arranging such an agreement with Norway, which was desirous of entering into negotiations¹⁶⁷ for the purpose; but it was felt by the Foreign Office that, while an arrangement of the kind would not bind¹³⁷ other Powers, questions of reciprocity might be raised, and British trawlers might be excluded from similar areas on foreign coasts. They therefore declined to enter upon negotiations with foreign Powers until the whole policy had been carefully considered.1333 One point of view which was taken was indicated in a speech of the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Lord Fitzmaurice) in the course of a debate in February 1907, which had been initiated¹⁶⁹ by Lord Balfour of Burleigh. He stated that according to the views hitherto accepted by the chief departments of the Government—the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, the Colonial Office, the Board of Trade, and the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries—and apart from the provisions of special treaties, territorial waters were: “First, the waters which extend from the coast-line of any part of the territory of a State to three miles from the low-water mark of such coast-line; secondly¹⁷⁰, the waters of bays the entrance to which is not more than six miles in width, and of which the entire land boundary forms part of the territory of a State. By custom, however, and by treaty and in special convention, the six-mile limit has frequently been extended to more than six miles.”1334 The Lord Chancellor¹⁷¹, it may be said, was absent through illness; and the declaration quoted, though it represents what has been the general, but by no means the invariable, attitude of the British Foreign Office in dealing with territorial waters, is not in accordance with the law of nations, as is shown in the foregoing chapters. Nor does it agree with the opinions expressed in a former debate by the late Lord Salisbury, so long the distinguished¹⁷² Foreign Minister of this country, by 731 Lord Halsbury, the former Lord Chancellor, and by Lord Herschell, the then Lord Chancellor (see p. 592), in which Lord Salisbury said “great care had been taken not to name three miles as the territorial limit.” Nor is it in agreement with the carefully considered and most explicit¹⁷³ reservations made in the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, both in regard to the extent of the territorial waters and the rightful jurisdiction of the Crown beyond three miles from the shore under the law of nations, conferred by Act of Parliament, or by law existing, and the similar reservations in certain other Acts previously referred to. Even more singular is the novel statement as to what constitutes a territorial bay. A six-mile limit of the kind will obviously confer in the great majority of cases no greater extent of sea than the three-mile limit on an open coast, and it is thus opposed to one of the best-recognised principles of international law relating to the subject. The only part of the world where it appears to be in force is in British North America, with reference to subjects of the United States. The history of how it came to be applied at all is told in a previous chapter, in which it is also shown that the British Government as late as 1887 rejected even the ten-mile limit for bays, as involving a surrender of fishing rights, and as being contrary to the law of nations (p. 629), and they have made declarations equally emphatic¹⁷⁴ on other occasions.1335

But in a subsequent debate Lord Fitzmaurice appears to have qualified¹⁷⁵ his statement, and quoted the observation of Lord Salisbury that where the coast was “folded and doubled,” as 732 where bays exist, it was an unsettled question in international law how far territorial waters extend in such cases.1336

Rather a different view was taken by the Lord Chancellor, a few weeks later, in the course of another debate about the Moray Firth. Lord Loreburn confined himself to saying that the obvious contention¹⁷⁶ of other nations, and one very difficult to encounter, if we tried to make byelaws under our own law in regard to waters within a line from headland to headland eighty-five miles apart, would be that we might be trying to legislate for the high seas.1337 And in a debate in July 1908, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey) put the matter in an exceedingly lucid¹⁷⁷ manner. Parliament had recognised the contention, he said, that there ought to be special regulations, especially in regard to the Moray Firth, going far beyond the three-mile limit; and, like other members of the Government, he condemned¹⁷⁸ the action of British subjects who, knowing perfectly¹⁷⁹ well the law, made use of a foreign flag to evade the regulations of the Moray Firth, which it was obviously the desire of Parliament should be enforced. But when they came to the question of enforcing the law on foreign subjects, they were placed in a very difficult position. The national policy of this country hitherto “had been to uphold the three-mile limit, but to protest against and to resist by every means in our power the pretension¹⁸⁰ of any foreign country to enforce its own jurisdiction on the sea beyond the three-mile limit.” We had contended before international tribunals, as in the Behring Sea Arbitration, that the three-mile limit is the only one we can recognise as the limit of foreign jurisdiction over British vessels; and suppose we attempted to enforce a doctrine going far beyond the three-mile limit on foreign ships, how could we 733 contend before an international tribunal for a doctrine precisely the reverse of that which we have always upheld on previous occasions? It followed from this that “if there was to be a modification¹⁸¹ of the rules relating to trawling in the North Sea, it must be by agreement with foreign Powers”—that was really the practical point upon which the matter turned. But in an important question affecting the interests of the country at large, it was impossible for the Foreign Office to approach other Powers with the view of reaching an agreement until it was quite clear that it was in the interest of a policy which had been adopted, affirmed, and declared by the Government to be a policy which was in the general national interest of the United Kingdom. Judging from the very great force with which the case in such regions as the Moray Firth had been presented, and the strong feeling that existed and which was not confined to the Moray Firth, it had always seemed to him that there was a case for grave consideration as to whether any new regulations were required for the preservation of the fishing industry in the North Sea at large. Trawling was a perfectly legitimate¹⁸² industry in which large capital was invested, and if further restrictions were to be imposed on it, it must be because a really important national interest required it; it would not be right to adopt in the interests of particular localities any special restrictions which might result in diminishing the supply and raising the price of fish. But, having laid down these two principles, Sir Edward Grey thought it was equally true that if the supply of fish from the North Sea is being affected by want of further regulations, then the interests of any particular industry must be subordinated to the general interest, which in the long-run was also the interest of the industry itself. “If it be the case,” he proceeded, “that in areas like the Moray Firth, which are important breeding-grounds, the supply of fish is being seriously interfered¹⁸³ with by the prosecution¹⁴³ of trawling in narrow waters, then it becomes a matter of national interest that we should, as soon as possible, come to some agreement with foreign Powers under which we should be able to make the arrangements which prove to be necessary in the national interest at large.” The subject was one requiring the deliberate investigation of the Government, and the investigation was proceeding; and they should know in the course of a reasonable time whether or not the Government 734 thought they had a case for approaching other Powers, and if so what were the grounds and propositions they should ask those Powers to agree to. With regard to bays, the Foreign Secretary said it had generally been understood that the qualification of the three-mile limit applied to bays ten miles wide, and they must be very careful as to how far they pressed the doctrine as to the width of a bay, or laid down an international doctrine on any particular bay. They must think of what the application of it might be in other parts of the world.1338

In this statesmanlike speech the case was put temperately¹⁸⁴ and fairly. Whether the Moray Firth is or is not a territorial bay, it has been the general practice of the British Government to contend for the ordinary three-mile limit, at least on open coasts, in relation to fishery questions. If there are clear reasons for the extension of this limit at any part of the coast, or in the North Sea generally, in the common interests of the fisheries, as recommended by the select Committee of the House of Commons in 1893; or for the prohibition of trawling within a great area on the Continental coast, as urged by the English trawlers, and recommended by the Parliamentary Committees of 1900 and 1904; or if it is believed to be necessary to regulate the fisheries in any way beyond the ordinary limit, then obviously the best method is to endeavour to come to an arrangement with the other Powers concerned. There are precedents¹⁸⁵ for this course in British policy. By treaties with France, the British Government agreed to bind British subjects not to fish for oysters or any kind of fish within Granville Bay in waters beyond the ordinary limit. In the interests of the preservation of the fur-seal, in which the United States was mainly concerned, they agreed to prohibit British subjects from taking them within a limit of sixty miles around the Pribilov Islands, and to compel them to observe a close-time on the high seas, and to use only the primitive¹⁸⁶ spear. They have also by treaty agreed to respect various other limits beyond the ordinary three miles in the interest of the preservation of other kinds of seals. The case of the North Sea, or of that inlet of it known as the Moray Firth, is on the same footing as these. The question is not one of the extension of territorial sea qua 735 territorial sea, but of special regulations independent of it, and exclusively relating to the fisheries.

From what has been said in foregoing pages as to the impoverishment of the fishing-grounds in the North Sea, and the various remedies that have been at one time or another proposed by the English trawlers and by Parliamentary Committees with the view of maintaining the fish supply, it might appear that a very good case already existed for approaching foreign Powers with the object of arranging for general regulations beyond the ordinary limit, and one far weightier than that which brought about the conference at The Hague and the North Sea Convention in 1882 (see p. 631).

Two probable reasons may be advanced for the delay in giving effect to the recommendations of the various Committees of Parliament. The first is that a very important international investigation of the North Sea and adjacent waters has been in progress for a number of years and is still going on. On the invitation of the Swedish Government, representatives of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway met at Stockholm in June 1899, and again at Christiania in May 1901, to discuss and arrange an organisation¹⁸⁷ and a programme for an international scientific investigation of the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Baltic, in the interests of the fisheries; and in July 1902, the first meeting of the body so constituted, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, was held at Copenhagen. Since then all the maritime countries of Western Europe, with the exception of France, have engaged in these researches.1339 This country entered into the arrangement with special reference to the fisheries in the North Sea, and with a very practical end in view—namely, to secure a careful inquiry into the effect of the methods of fishing in the North Sea, and to promote a scheme for determining whether 736 protection against overfishing was required; and, if so, where, when, and how such protection should be given.1340 Much strong criticism has been passed as to the origin, the methods, and the programme of these investigations¹⁸⁸,1341 and while they have naturally resulted in large additions to our knowledge of the physical 737 and biological conditions of the sea, of the life-history of fishes, and of certain fishery questions, no report has yet appeared dealing with the fundamental problem as to overfishing and any remedies which may be required to safeguard the fish-supply; and it is doubtless such information that is referred to by the Foreign Secretary as essential before Foreign Powers can be approached. An opinion was, however, early expressed as to the particular question of the Moray Firth. The Conference held at Christiania in 1901, at which all the Powers signatory to the North Sea Convention (with the exception of France) were represented, passed a resolution to the effect that “in distinct areas of the sea, as for example the Moray Firth, in which any Government has undertaken scientific experiments in the interest of the fisheries, and in which the success of the experiments is being hindered by the operations of trawlers, it is to be desired that measures be adopted for the removal of such hindrances¹⁸⁹.”1342

The second probable reason that nothing has yet been done to arrive at an international understanding appears to be that the representatives of the great trawling industry have changed their minds within the last few years. Since foreign coasts have been exploited with immediate⁹⁵ financial success to the trawling companies, their interest in the North Sea has diminished. They fear that if the question of fishery regulations beyond the ordinary three-mile limit is opened up with foreign Powers in the interest of the North Sea fisheries, proposals may be made, as a quid pro⁶ quo, by some of the other Powers for similar regulations on their coasts; and it is evident from the statements made in Parliament that this view has hitherto prevailed.1343 One would have thought that a quid pro quo which closed to trawling the great area off the Continental coast, which English trawlers for more than fifteen years have been vainly asking to be closed by international arrangement, would be satisfactory to them. Or that a fishery limit of nine or ten miles on the other side of the North Sea, or all around it, which they thought some years ago to be the best remedy for the 738 depletion of the fishing-banks, would meet with their approval. These areas, compared with the whole of the North Sea, are comparatively of small extent (see fig. 26). The area of the North Sea between the three-mile line and a nine-mile limit amounts to about 12,000 square miles, or 7·4 per cent of the whole area beyond three miles from the shore; and the area between the three-mile line and a thirteen-mile limit amounts to about 20,000 square miles, or 12·3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the condition of the fishing-grounds in the North Sea is described as serious by those who ought to know most about it—the trawlers who are daily working there; and if no remedy is timeously applied, the measures which will eventually be necessary will transcend¹⁹⁰ those which are now proposed.1344

But if it be imprudent to postpone¹⁹¹ indefinitely the seeking of an international remedy for the depleted fisheries of the North Sea, because the trawling industry fears that retaliatory¹⁹² measures may be proposed against British trawlers on some foreign coasts, it may be questioned, on the other hand, whether the action taken to obviate¹⁹³ such measures has always been well-judged or in accordance with the true comity¹⁹⁴ of nations. On strictly selfish grounds, and for immediate profit, it is doubtless justifiable¹⁹⁵ to make every fishing-bank, wherever it is situated, available for the enterprise of British capital, irrespective of the interests of the inhabitants of the adjoining coast, if that can be managed. If, indeed, the resources of the sea were inexhaustible,—if it was impossible for the operations of man to diminish the abundance of fish,—then no limit of exclusive fishing would be necessary: only such regulations would be required as would enable fishing operations to be conducted in an orderly manner. But the condition of the North Sea alone proves the opposite. It shows also, what is well enough understood, that unrestrained trawling on any 739 banks will, in course of time, materially reduce their productiveness; and the rapidity of the impoverishment will very largely depend upon the intensity¹⁹⁶ of the fishing and the extent of the grounds. That being so, it may well be said that a measure of protection on the banks which are still productive along foreign coasts would be in the permanent interest of the English trawling industry itself, as well as in the interest of the coast population.1345

On some of those coasts the local population are dependent on the fish they catch on the neighbouring grounds, which are often of limited extent, and it is reasonable and just that they should endeavour to preserve this supply for their own use and advantage. At Iceland, for example, the area of the possible fishing-grounds between the ordinary three-mile limit and a depth of 200 metres (or 109 fathoms), including places where trawling is not practicable, amounts to about 36,600 square miles, compared with nearly 312,000 square miles between the same limits off the British Isles¹⁹⁷.1346 It was recently stated in the House of Lords, by Lord Heneage, that the Icelanders, with the view of preserving their fishing-grounds, a few years ago brought forward a law in the Althing, or local Parliament, to extend the limit of exclusive fishing to seven miles around their coast. It was also said that in 1901 they passed laws for enclosing extra-territorial waters. 740 As soon as these proceedings came to the knowledge of the English trawl-owners, the National Sea Fisheries Protection Association made a representation on the subject to the Foreign Office, and in consequence of this the Danish Government took action, and the law was prevented from coming into operation.1347 And any such action in the future was effectually prevented by the immediate negotiation¹⁶⁸ of an international convention in which a three-mile limit was fixed for Iceland and Far?e (see p. 647) so far as concerned British fishermen. Then with respect to the coasts of Spain and Portugal, where the available grounds are narrow, amounting altogether between the three-mile limit and the 200-metre line to 15,460 square miles (see fig. 28), intimation has been made by the British Foreign Office, at the instance of the National Sea Fisheries Protection Association, that jurisdiction will not be recognised over British vessels beyond three miles from the shore, and the national regulations in regard to trawling are thus rendered comparatively ineffective. With regard to Norway, moreover, where the area between the three-mile limit and the 200-metre line exceeds 30,000 square miles, it appears that soon after her separation from Sweden, in 1905, the British Foreign Office made the proposal that she should join in the North Sea Convention (which, along with Sweden, she refused to do in 1882), so that the ordinary three-mile limit might be imposed along the Norwegian coast; but the proposal was rejected.1348

In view of the evidence that has been adduced, the recommendations of the various Committees of Parliament that have inquired into the subject, and the statements made in the House of Commons, it may be assumed that an international conference of the Powers bordering the North Sea will be convened¹⁹⁸, to consider how fishery regulations may be made more effective, whether by extension of the limits of exclusive fishery or otherwise, as soon as the results of the international fishery investigations justify¹⁹⁹ that course.

The End

1 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

2 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

3 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

4 avowedly   

adv.公然地

参考例句：

• He was avowedly in the wrong. 他自认错了。 来自辞典例句
• Their policy has been avowedly marxist. 他们的政策被公开地宣称为马克思主义政策。 来自互联网

5 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

6 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

9 replete   

adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁

参考例句：

• He was replete with food and drink.他吃喝得饱饱的。
• This immense space may be replete with happiness and glory.这巨大的空间可能充满了幸福和光荣。

10 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

13 belligerents   

n.交战的一方（指国家、集团或个人）( belligerent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At long last an armistice was declared by the belligerents. 交战双方终于宣布停战。 来自辞典例句
• Yet it remains unclear whether the actual belligerents will accept it. 但真正的交战双方是否会接受还是个未知数。 来自互联网

14 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

15 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

16 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

17 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

19 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

20 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

21 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

22 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

23 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

24 legislated   

v.立法，制定法律( legislate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Congress has legislated a new minimum wage for workers. 国会制定了一项新的关于工人最低工资的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most member countries have already legislated against excessive overtime. 大多数成员国均已立法禁止超时加班。 来自辞典例句

25 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

26 enactments   

n.演出( enactment的名词复数 )；展现；规定；通过

参考例句：

• The enactments specified in Part 3 of Schedule 5 are repealed. 附表５第３部指明的成文法则现予废除。 来自互联网
• On and after April 1st the new enactments shall be enforced. 从4月1日起实施新法令。 来自互联网

27 enactment   

n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过

参考例句：

• Enactment refers to action.演出指行为的表演。
• We support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.我们支持要求通过《权利法案》的呼声。

28 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

29 porpoises   

n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A shoal of porpoises are well on the feed. 一群海豚正在吞食。 来自辞典例句
• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。 来自辞典例句

30 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

31 concurrent   

adj.同时发生的，一致的

参考例句：

• You can't attend two concurrent events!你不能同时参加两项活动！
• The twins had concurrent birthday. 双胞胎生日在同一天。

32 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

33 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

34 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

35 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

36 eastwards   

adj.向东方（的），朝东（的）；n.向东的方向

参考例句：

• The current sets strongly eastwards.急流迅猛东去。
• The Changjiang River rolls on eastwards.长江滚滚向东流。

37 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

38 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

39 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

40 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

41 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

43 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

44 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

45 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

46 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

47 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

48 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

49 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

50 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

51 fathoms   

英寻( fathom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The harbour is four fathoms deep. 港深为四英寻。
• One bait was down forty fathoms. 有个鱼饵下沉到四十英寻的深处。

52 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

53 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

54 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

55 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

56 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

57 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

58 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

59 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

60 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

61 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

62 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

63 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

64 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

65 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

66 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

67 prospecting   

n.探矿

参考例句：

• The prospecting team ploughed their way through the snow. 探险队排雪前进。
• The prospecting team has traversed the length and breadth of the land. 勘探队踏遍了祖国的山山水水。

68 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

69 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

70 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

71 necessitated   

使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。
• No man is necessitated to do wrong. 没有人是被迫去作错事的。

72 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

73 smacks   

掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• It was a fishing town, and the sea was dotted with smacks. 这是个渔业城镇，海面上可看到渔帆点点。

74 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

75 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

76 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

77 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

78 computed   

adj.[医]计算的，使用计算机的v.计算，估算( compute的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He computed that the project would take seven years to complete. 他估计这项计划要花七年才能完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。 来自辞典例句

79 impoverishment   

n.贫穷，穷困；贫化

参考例句：

• Therefore, the spiritual impoverishment is a more fearful social phenomenon. 所以，精神贫困是一种比物质贫困更隐蔽更可怕的社会现象。 来自互联网
• Impoverishment is compounded by many elements, and can transmit to be a pernicious cycle. 贫困是由多种因素复合而成的，并且具有传递性，形成贫困的恶性循环。 来自互联网

80 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

81 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

82 wastefully   

浪费地，挥霍地，耗费地

参考例句：

• He soon consumed his fortune, ie spent the money wastefully. 他很快就把财产挥霍殆尽。
• Small Q is one flies upwards the bracelet youth, likes enjoying noisily, spends wastefully. 小Q则是一个飞扬跳脱的青年，爱玩爱闹，花钱大手大脚。

83 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

84 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

85 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

86 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

87 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

88 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

89 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

90 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

91 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

92 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

93 depletion   

n.耗尽，枯竭

参考例句：

• Increased consumption of water has led to rapid depletion of groundwater reserves.用水量的增加导致了地下水贮备迅速枯竭。
• Farmers should rotate crops every season to prevent depletion of the soil.农夫每季应该要轮耕，以免耗尽土壤。

94 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

95 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

96 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

97 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

98 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

99 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

100 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

101 remunerative   

adj.有报酬的

参考例句：

• He is prepared to make a living by accepting any remunerative chore.为了生计，他准备接受任何有酬报的杂活。
• A doctor advised her to seek remunerative employment.一个医生建议她去找有酬劳的工作。

102 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

103 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

104 moribund   

adj.即将结束的，垂死的

参考例句：

• The moribund Post Office Advisory Board was replaced.这个不起作用的邮局顾问委员会已被替换。
• Imperialism is monopolistic,parasitic and moribund capitalism.帝国主义是垄断的、寄生的、垂死的资本主义。

105 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

106 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

107 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

108 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

109 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

110 expedient   

adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计

参考例句：

• The government found it expedient to relax censorship a little.政府发现略微放宽审查是可取的。
• Every kind of expedient was devised by our friends.我们的朋友想出了各种各样的应急办法。

111 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

112 remitted   

v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送

参考例句：

• She has had part of her sentence remitted. 她被免去部分刑期。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fever has remitted. 退烧了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

113 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。

114 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

115 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

116 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

117 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

118 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

119 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

120 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

121 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

122 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

123 shrimps   

n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人

参考例句：

• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood. 小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I'm going to have shrimps for my tea. 傍晚的便餐我要吃点虾。 来自辞典例句

124 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

125 prohibitions   

禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例

参考例句：

• Nowadays NO PARKING is the most ubiquitous of prohibitions. 今天，“NO PARKING”（禁止停车），几乎成了到处可见的禁止用语了。
• Inappropriate, excessive or capricious administration of aversive stimulation has led to scandals, lawsuits and prohibitions. 不恰当的、过度的或随意滥用厌恶性刺激会引起人们的反感、控告与抵制。

126 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

127 contravening   

v.取消，违反( contravene的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was found guilty of contravening safety regulations. 那家公司被判违反了安全条例。
• You are contravening the regulations. 你违反了规定。 来自辞典例句

128 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

129 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

130 dominions   

统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图

参考例句：

• The King sent messengers to every town, village and hamlet in his dominions. 国王派使者到国内每一个市镇，村落和山庄。
• European powers no longer rule over great overseas dominions. 欧洲列强不再统治大块海外领土了。

131 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

132 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

133 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

134 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

135 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

136 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

137 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

138 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

139 intermittently   

adv.间歇地；断断续续

参考例句：

• Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
• The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

140 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

141 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

142 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

143 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

144 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

145 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

146 locus   

n.中心

参考例句：

• Barcelona is the locus of Spanish industry.巴塞罗那是西班牙工业中心。
• Thereafter,the military remained the locus of real power.自此之后，军方一直掌握着实权。

147 analogous   

adj.相似的；类似的

参考例句：

• The two situations are roughly analogous.两种情況大致相似。
• The company is in a position closely analogous to that of its main rival.该公司与主要竞争对手的处境极为相似。

148 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

149 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

150 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

151 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

152 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

153 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

154 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

155 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

156 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

157 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。

158 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

159 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

160 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

161 abridging   

节略( abridge的现在分词 )； 减少； 缩短； 剥夺（某人的）权利（或特权等）

参考例句：

• He's currently abridging his book. 他正在对他的书进行删节。
• First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." （美国宪法）第一修正案规定议会不应该通过减损（公民）言论自由的法律。

162 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

163 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

164 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

165 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

166 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

167 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

168 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

169 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

170 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

171 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

172 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

173 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

174 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

175 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

176 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

177 lucid   

adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的

参考例句：

• His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
• He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒，不太知道自己在哪里。

178 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

179 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

180 pretension   

n.要求；自命，自称；自负

参考例句：

• I make no pretension to skill as an artist,but I enjoy painting.我并不自命有画家的技巧，但我喜欢绘画。
• His action is a satire on his boastful pretension.他的行动是对他自我卖弄的一个讽刺。

181 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

182 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

183 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

184 temperately   

adv.节制地，适度地

参考例句：

• We are not spending extravagantly, but spending reasonably and temperately. 他们不是在挥霍无度的消费，而是合理的有节制的花费。 来自互联网
• He used the privileges of his office temperately. 他有节制地使用了自己的职务特权。 来自互联网

185 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

186 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

187 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

188 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

189 hindrances   

阻碍者( hindrance的名词复数 )； 障碍物； 受到妨碍的状态

参考例句：

• She also speaks out against the traditional hindrances to freedom. 她甚至大声疾呼，反对那些阻挡自由的、统礼教的绊脚石。
• When this stage is reached then the hindrances and karma are overcome. 唯此状态达到后，则超越阻碍和因果。

190 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

191 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

192 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

193 obviate   

v.除去，排除，避免，预防

参考例句：

• Improved public transportation would obviate the need tor everyone to have their own car.公共交通的改善消除了每人都要有车的必要性。
• This deferral would obviate pressure on the rouble exchange rate.这一延期将消除卢布汇率面临的压力。

194 comity   

n.礼让，礼仪；团结，联合

参考例句：

• Sometimes comity is regarded as a stimulus to the pattern of behaviour.礼让有时被视作行为模式的一个促进因素。
• The basic feature of positive comity is its voluntariness.积极礼让的基本特征是它的自愿性。

195 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

196 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

197 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

198 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

199 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？