Justice Anthony Lucky addresses the UTT function at the National Library on Tuesday night. Photo: Lester Forde
BY FRANCIS JOSEPH
THE fishing dispute between T&T and Barbados took a dramatic turn on Monday when Barbados approached the United Nations to get another 150 nautical miles of sea space for its flying fish and for exploration of gas and other minerals.
This sea space which Barbados wants has been considered part T&T territorial waters for centuries.
In response to the claim by Barbados, retired T&T Court of Appeal judge Anthony Lucky has urged local authorities to move fast and make submissions to secure the sea space which Barbados wants to add to the 200 nautical miles which it already had in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Lucky, a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), made the disclosure on Tuesday night when he gave a lecture organised by the University of T&T (UTT) at the National Library Port-of-Spain.
The lecture was titled Maritime challenges for Trinidad and Tobago.
Lucky did no to go into further details.
But he told the gathering, “I must be careful not to say too much, in the event it may come before us in Hamburg (ITLOS headquarters).
Efforts to reach Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon yesterday were unsuccessful, but a source said a technical team, appointed by the ministry had been put in place to deal with Barbados’ claim.
On Monday, Barbados submitted a case for an extension to the continental shelf to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the law of the Sea (DOALOS) of the United Nations.
Under the provisions of Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and where the geophysical conditions exist, coastal states may exercise jurisdiction over maritime space up to approximately 150 nautical miles beyond the 200 nautical mile EEZ limits. This maritime space is commonly referred to as the extended continental shelf.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bridgetown, “Barbados’ submission is the first made by a small island developing state and comes one full year ahead of the deadline of May 2009 set by states, party to UNCLOS under which coastal states must submit information on the limits of the continental shelf.”
The ministry stated, “The filing of Barbados’ continental shelf submission, represents the culmination of two years of intense technical, legal, and diplomatic work by the continental shelf project team led by special envoy for the environment, Dr Leonard Nurse.”
Barbados’ submission is expected to be considered at the 22nd session of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York from August 11 to September 12.
The filing of the latest submission was another by Barbados to gain control of sea space east of Tobago.
In his address, Lucky pointed out T&T’s oil and gas resources were within the maritime boundaries of a few countries.
He said one of the challenges which T&T faced was the delimitation of maritime boundaries.
Lucky said T&T had a treaty with Venezuela, but none with Guyana. He said Guyana and Barbados had a memorandum of understanding.
He said it was crucial that maritime boundaries between T&T and Grenada and St Vincent be defined as soon as possible.
The retired judge said if the delimitation lines between Guyana and Barbados were accepted, that would block off T&T and Venezuela from further exploration in the Atlantic Ocean.
He said Barbados and Guyana had lodged objections to the T&T/Venezuela boundary treaty.
Lucky said neither T&T nor Venezuela had objected to the Barbados/Guyana treaty.
Facts
After years of wrangling with T&T over fishing and other rights, Barbados initiated arbitration proceedings in February 2004.
The quarrel caused tension between Barbados and T&T as Bajan fishermen were constantly intercepted and arrested in waters off Tobago.
The arrest of two Bajan fishermen in Tobago waters and the discontinuance of the case in the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court, forced Barbados to seek international resolution.
Flying fish, the national icon of Barbados, headed for warmer waters closer to Tobago.
The T&T Government took issue with Bajan fishermen who they insisted fished in its territorial waters. Barbados insisted that it had fished for flying fish off the coast of Tobago from as early as the 17th century.
But T&T denied this, saying Barbados’ argument was fictional.
On April 11, 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, delivered a 116-page judgment on the issue. Both T&T and Barbados claimed victory.
But T&T was advised by the court to negotiate in good faith and conclude an agreement that would accord fisherfolk of Barbados access to fisheries within the EEZ of T&T.
Maritime boundaries were defined for both countries.
Since the 2006 ruling of the court, there has been no major incident between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados fishermen.
But Bajan fishermen have moved with caution when fishing off Tobago.
