Will 'Daegae' Prices Rise... Legal Battle Begins Between Norway and Latvia Over Fishing Licenses

Latvia's Claim for Fishing Rights... 'Continental Shelf' Is the Key
International Attention Also Entwined with Oil and Natural Gas Mining Rights

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The controversy between Norway and Latvia, Nordic countries adjacent to the Arctic Ocean, over the allowance of snow crab fishing in the continental shelf area of the Svalbard archipelago is intensifying. While the Norwegian government has prohibited snow crab fishing, Latvia is urging for fishing permission, leading to diplomatic friction between the two countries.

According to Bloomberg on the 24th (local time), the Norwegian Supreme Court has entered into hearings regarding the issue of allowing snow crab fishing in the continental shelf area of the Svalbard archipelago, filed by Latvian fishing companies against the Norwegian government. The hearings are expected to last at least five weeks.

Previously, in 2019, Latvian fishing companies requested fishing licenses for snow crab fishing from the Norwegian government, but the Norwegian government rejected the request, stating that only its own vessels could receive fishing licenses, which initiated the legal dispute. Latvia argues that under the 1920 "Svalbard Treaty," which guarantees the sharing of resource extraction and fishing activities, Latvian vessels, as a signatory country to the treaty, should also be eligible for fishing licenses.

[Image source=Norwegian Tourism Board website]

The Svalbard Treaty, signed in Paris in 1920, guarantees the autonomy of the Svalbard archipelago, designates the area as a demilitarized zone, and stipulates that the signatory countries share resource extraction and fishing activities within the territory and territorial waters of the archipelago. Since the late 19th century, the Svalbard area has been known as a rich source of natural resources, and the treaty was established to suppress excessive armed conflicts anticipated among European powers over the region.

Latvia also joined the Svalbard Treaty in 2016 and claims the right to obtain fishing licenses as a signatory country. However, the Norwegian government argues that the area in question is a continental shelf zone, and since the concept of the "continental shelf" did not exist at the time the treaty was signed in 1920, and the treaty contains no provisions related to the continental shelf, it cannot allow such fishing activities.

In fact, the concept of the continental shelf was first asserted by the U.S. government under Harry Truman in 1945, after World War II, and the international community accepted the continental shelf as a new maritime territorial concept only after the Continental Shelf Convention was signed in 1958.

The reason the Norwegian government is taking a tougher stance is analyzed to be because if fishing activities in the continental shelf area are permitted based on the Svalbard Treaty, it is highly likely that this would apply to all resources such as oil and natural gas. Professor Oeystein Jansen of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway explained in an interview with major foreign media, "If the Supreme Court rules that the Svalbard Treaty applies to the snow crab fishing allowance issue, it could affect all industries including oil, gas, minerals, and fishing in the future," adding, "It will be either all permitted or nothing permitted."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.