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Bering Sea Arbitration
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Bering Sea Arbitration
The Bering Sea Arbitration of 1893 arose out of a fishery dispute between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States in the 1880s and the 1890s. One of the main points of contention was overhunting of fur seals and their possible extinction. The United States Revenue Cutter Service, today known as the United States Coast Guard, captured several Canadian sealer vessels throughout the conflict. Diplomatic representations followed the capture of the first three ships and an order for release was issued by the British imperial government (then still in charge of foreign affairs for Canada), but it did nothing to stop the seizures and none were released. This led to the U.S. claiming exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Bering Sea, and that led to negotiations outside of the courts. The award was given in favor of the British, however, and the Americans were denied exclusive jurisdiction. The British were awarded compensation for the damage that had been inflicted on their vessels, and the American sealing zone remained as it was prior to the conflict (60 miles (97 km)).
In 1867 the United States government purchased from Russia all her territorial rights in Alaska and the adjacent islands. The boundary between the two countries was a line drawn from the middle of the Bering Strait south-west to a point midway between the Aleutian and Komandorski Islands dividing the Bering Sea into two parts, the larger being on the American side. This portion included the Pribilof Islands, the principal breeding-grounds of the seals in those seas.[citation needed]
By Acts of Congress, passed between 1868 and 1873, the killing of seals was prohibited on the Pribilof Islands and in "the waters adjacent thereto" except upon certain specified conditions. This created a large swathe of friction between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government with the presidential veto employed by Ulysses S. Grant on two notable occasions. No definition of the meaning of the words "waters adjacent" was given in the act. In 1870 the exclusive rights of killing seals on these islands was leased by the United States to the Alaska Commercial Company, on conditions limiting the numbers to be taken annually, and otherwise providing for their protection. As early as 1872, the operations of foreign sealers attracted the attention of the United States' government, but any precautions then taken seem to have been directed against the capture of seals on their way through the passages between the Aleutian Islands, and no claim to jurisdiction beyond the 3-mile (4.8 km) limit appears to have been made. On March 12, 1881, the acting United States Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a letter asking for an interpretation of the words "waters adjacent thereto" in the acts of 1868 and 1873, stated that all the waters east of the boundary line were considered to be within the waters of Alaska territory. In March 1886 this letter was communicated to the San Francisco customs by Daniel Manning, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, for publication.[citation needed]
Beginning in about 1886, it became the practice of certain Canadian vessels to intercept passing seals in the open ocean (over 3 miles (4.8 km) from any shore) and shoot them in the water (pelagic sealing), often killing both male and female. The great drawback of pelagic sealing lies in the fact that nursing seal mothers wander far in search of food, while the males do not take food during the breeding season, but remain on the islands. Consequently, practically all the seals taken by pelagic sealers are nursing females, the death of which ordinarily results in the starvation of the pups. As a result of this practice, the real possibility of the destruction of the seal fisheries became apparent, together with industries valuable to both the United States and Great Britain.
In the summer of 1886, three British Columbian sealers, Carolena, Onward, and Thornton, were captured by an American revenue cutter, Corwin, 60 miles (97 km) from land. They were condemned by the district judge because they had been sealing within the limits of Alaska territory and owed a pro tanto obligation to respect the sovereign laws of the District of Alaska. Diplomatic representations followed and an order for release was issued but, in 1887, further captures were made which were judicially supported on the same grounds. From that point the United States claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Bering Sea; it also contended that the protection of the fur seal was an international duty, and should be secured by international arrangement. The British imperial government (then still in charge of foreign affairs for Canada) repudiated the claim, but was willing to negotiate on the question of international regulation.[citation needed]
Between 1887 and 1890, negotiations were carried out among Russia, Great Britain and the United States with a view to a joint convention but the parties were unable to agree on basis for regulating sealing in the open seas, the pelagic zone. America had seal nurseries on the Pribilof Islands and Russia on the Komandorski group. Neither Britain, nor Canada, had land access to the Bering Sea or seal breeding grounds. Thus, to prohibit pelagic sealing would have been to exclude Britain from the industry.
The United States insisted that such prohibition was indispensable on the grounds that pelagic sealing involved the destruction of breeding stock, because it was practically impossible to distinguish between the male and female seal when in the water; and that it was unnecessarily wasteful, inasmuch as a large proportion of the seals so killed were lost. Britain contended that in all known cases the extermination of seals had been the result of operations upon land, and had never been caused exclusively by sealing in the pelagic zone.
The negotiations came to nothing, and the United States fell back upon their claim of right. In June 1890, it was reported that certain American revenue cutters had been ordered to proceed to the Bering Sea. Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British ambassador at Washington, having failed to obtain an assurance that British vessels would not be interfered with, laid a formal protest before the United States government.
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Bering Sea Arbitration
The Bering Sea Arbitration of 1893 arose out of a fishery dispute between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States in the 1880s and the 1890s. One of the main points of contention was overhunting of fur seals and their possible extinction. The United States Revenue Cutter Service, today known as the United States Coast Guard, captured several Canadian sealer vessels throughout the conflict. Diplomatic representations followed the capture of the first three ships and an order for release was issued by the British imperial government (then still in charge of foreign affairs for Canada), but it did nothing to stop the seizures and none were released. This led to the U.S. claiming exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Bering Sea, and that led to negotiations outside of the courts. The award was given in favor of the British, however, and the Americans were denied exclusive jurisdiction. The British were awarded compensation for the damage that had been inflicted on their vessels, and the American sealing zone remained as it was prior to the conflict (60 miles (97 km)).
In 1867 the United States government purchased from Russia all her territorial rights in Alaska and the adjacent islands. The boundary between the two countries was a line drawn from the middle of the Bering Strait south-west to a point midway between the Aleutian and Komandorski Islands dividing the Bering Sea into two parts, the larger being on the American side. This portion included the Pribilof Islands, the principal breeding-grounds of the seals in those seas.[citation needed]
By Acts of Congress, passed between 1868 and 1873, the killing of seals was prohibited on the Pribilof Islands and in "the waters adjacent thereto" except upon certain specified conditions. This created a large swathe of friction between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government with the presidential veto employed by Ulysses S. Grant on two notable occasions. No definition of the meaning of the words "waters adjacent" was given in the act. In 1870 the exclusive rights of killing seals on these islands was leased by the United States to the Alaska Commercial Company, on conditions limiting the numbers to be taken annually, and otherwise providing for their protection. As early as 1872, the operations of foreign sealers attracted the attention of the United States' government, but any precautions then taken seem to have been directed against the capture of seals on their way through the passages between the Aleutian Islands, and no claim to jurisdiction beyond the 3-mile (4.8 km) limit appears to have been made. On March 12, 1881, the acting United States Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a letter asking for an interpretation of the words "waters adjacent thereto" in the acts of 1868 and 1873, stated that all the waters east of the boundary line were considered to be within the waters of Alaska territory. In March 1886 this letter was communicated to the San Francisco customs by Daniel Manning, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, for publication.[citation needed]
Beginning in about 1886, it became the practice of certain Canadian vessels to intercept passing seals in the open ocean (over 3 miles (4.8 km) from any shore) and shoot them in the water (pelagic sealing), often killing both male and female. The great drawback of pelagic sealing lies in the fact that nursing seal mothers wander far in search of food, while the males do not take food during the breeding season, but remain on the islands. Consequently, practically all the seals taken by pelagic sealers are nursing females, the death of which ordinarily results in the starvation of the pups. As a result of this practice, the real possibility of the destruction of the seal fisheries became apparent, together with industries valuable to both the United States and Great Britain.
In the summer of 1886, three British Columbian sealers, Carolena, Onward, and Thornton, were captured by an American revenue cutter, Corwin, 60 miles (97 km) from land. They were condemned by the district judge because they had been sealing within the limits of Alaska territory and owed a pro tanto obligation to respect the sovereign laws of the District of Alaska. Diplomatic representations followed and an order for release was issued but, in 1887, further captures were made which were judicially supported on the same grounds. From that point the United States claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the sealing industry in the Bering Sea; it also contended that the protection of the fur seal was an international duty, and should be secured by international arrangement. The British imperial government (then still in charge of foreign affairs for Canada) repudiated the claim, but was willing to negotiate on the question of international regulation.[citation needed]
Between 1887 and 1890, negotiations were carried out among Russia, Great Britain and the United States with a view to a joint convention but the parties were unable to agree on basis for regulating sealing in the open seas, the pelagic zone. America had seal nurseries on the Pribilof Islands and Russia on the Komandorski group. Neither Britain, nor Canada, had land access to the Bering Sea or seal breeding grounds. Thus, to prohibit pelagic sealing would have been to exclude Britain from the industry.
The United States insisted that such prohibition was indispensable on the grounds that pelagic sealing involved the destruction of breeding stock, because it was practically impossible to distinguish between the male and female seal when in the water; and that it was unnecessarily wasteful, inasmuch as a large proportion of the seals so killed were lost. Britain contended that in all known cases the extermination of seals had been the result of operations upon land, and had never been caused exclusively by sealing in the pelagic zone.
The negotiations came to nothing, and the United States fell back upon their claim of right. In June 1890, it was reported that certain American revenue cutters had been ordered to proceed to the Bering Sea. Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British ambassador at Washington, having failed to obtain an assurance that British vessels would not be interfered with, laid a formal protest before the United States government.