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

The proposals were deliberated in Parliament in 1925. The
spokesman of the Conservatives, Halfdan Hendriksen, reminded the
politicians about the Faroese wishes in the matter. The minister, Hauge,
argued that this had been taken into consideration under the preliminary
committee work.
In the spring of 1925 the Faroese case and the resource management
issue were brought before the Greenlandic Councils in a very restricted
form by the Greenlandic Department. The Danish council leaders
(landfogederne, the ‘sheriffs’) eased the way but Greenlandic opinions
were hostile to the Faroese requests. The Southern Council accepted
Ravns Storø as a more permanent land base and agreed that Greenlanders
working on fishing vessels were to be trained as fishermen. The Northern
Council was more restrictive and stated in its response that not just the
fiords and the waters inside the outer skerries and the three nautical miles
of territorial sea should stay restricted for outsiders but that the banks in
international waters were also of primary interest to the Greenlanders. 155
The law followed many of these intentions. Article 2 stated that:
The right to catching, fishery and hunting in Greenlandic waters is exclusively
preserved for native Greenlanders and others in Greenland inhabited Danish subjects
and for those, to whom the Home Secretary will issue special permits according to
the hitherto existing regulations (Article 11 specifies the East Greenlandic exceptions
for 20 years to the Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes). 156
Former prime minister Zahle, in the deliberations in the Folketing,
expressed the hope that some Danish and Faroese fishermen could be
stationed at Greenland to train the Greenlanders in more efficient fishing
techniques. In the Landsting the Faroese propositions were mentioned
gave no real concession except extended rights to take in fresh water, and mentioned that
the coming Greenlandic country councils ought to be consulted in the matter.
155 The Greenlandic responses were characterized by such formulations as: the resources
must be preserved for “the country’s own children” (Landets egne Børn),—or: fishery
inside the outer skerries and in the sea-territory “belongs to the Greenlandic population
alone” (tilkommer den grønlandske Befolkning), cf. Beretninger og Kundgørelser om
Grønland, 1926, 436f (Sydgrønlands Landsraads behandling, 1925, pkt. 8) and 457f,
(Nordgrønlands Landsraads møde, 1925, pkt. 3).
156 “§ 2. Ret til at drive Fangst, Fiskeri og Jagt i Grønlandske Farvande er udelukkende
forbeholdt indfødte Grønlændere og andre i Grønland bosatte danske Undersaatter samt
dem, som Indenrigsministeren meddeler særlig Tilladelse dertil efter de hidtil gældende
Regler”. The law is printed in full and with comments from the committee reports in
Rigsdagsaarbog, 1925, 153-160.
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