The North Atlantic Fisheries, 1100-1976 - University of Hull

All the major elements in the Faroese political conflict about
Greenlandic fishery before 1938/39 were already on the table in the late
1924 presented by the press, in the committee report of the Lagting and
by J. Patursson.
Greenlandic Resource-Management
The Law Concerning Fishery, Catching and Hunting of 1925
The old Royal Charter of 1776 and its later clarifications and
amendments upheld a general prohibition on sailing in Greenland’s
territorial sea and in principle closed the waters to anybody but the
Greenlanders. Taking into consideration the huge areas to supervise and
the difficult sailing conditions these regulations were more often
statements of intent than daily practice even if they were internationally
recognized.
The 1924 compromise on East Greenland with the Norwegians made
it imperative that new regulations for resource management in Greenland
be issued. From 1924 different departments and ministries of state
worked hard on this matter and on 29 October 1924 the home secretary in
parliament announced the content of a bill on the matter soon to be
proposed. 152 The Faroese address of 1924 was directed to the
committees of the central administration dealing with this matter, but
little attention was paid to its suggestions. 153
In Article 1 of the first draft from the Admiralty (Marineministeriet)
some considerations about a Faroese fishery off Greenland were actually
taken but that was soon turned down by the Greenlandic Department.
Following the old protectionistic line the department would only
consider an opening for scientific and cultural research on dispensation
but rejected any real commercial exploitation. 154
Forhandling med Handelsstyrelsen skabes Adgang for Færinger til at tilvirke Fangsten i
Land og eventuelt udnytte grønlandsk Arbejdskraft.”
152 Folketingstidende 1924/25, 29 October 1924, column 923 f, Home Secretary, Hauge,
under the debate on the budget for 1925 announced the Greenland Resource Management
law along with a completion of the law about two representative and democratically
elected Greenland country councils, see also Rigsdagsårbogen 1924/25, 152f.
153 In the Faroese view of the matter it has been said, that their proposals were not dealt
with at all in Denmark. That is not true—the arguments simply did not convince the civil
service in the central administration., cf. Rigsdagsårbogen 1924/25, 152f.
154 The official answer of 22 January 1925 from the Home Office (Indenrigsministeriet)
to Lagtinget is not printed in the Lagtingstidende (but was soon known and referred to by
the Faroese press). Spanner, ‘Færøfiskeriet’, 33 and endnote 35, has found and quoted a
copy in Rigsarkivet, Grønlands Styrelses arkiv, 51/1926, journal 609/1924. The letter
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