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The Lobster War (also known as Lobster Operation) is an ironic name given to a dispute over spiny lobsters which occurred from 1961 to 1963 between Brazil and France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French sustained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore, they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. The dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.〔Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan; & Anthony Mango (2004). ''(Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements ),'' Routledge, Vol. 2 G-M, p. 1334. ISBN 0-415-93922-4.〕 Although this historical incident of coercive diplomacy may have taken place long before the drafting of the UNCLOS, the dispute ended with the signing of an agreement on 10 December 1964, which granted to twenty six French ships the right of fishing for a period no longer than five years, on the grounds that they delivered to Brazilian fishermen a certain amount of profit over their fishing activities in the so-called "designated areas".〔 ==Incident and dispute== In 1961, some groups of French fishermen who were operating very profitably off the coast of Mauritania decided to extend their search to the other side of the Atlantic ocean, settling on a spot off the coast of Brazil where lobsters are found on submerged ledges at depths of 250–650 ft.〔Reynaud, Paul (1964), In ''(The foreign policy of Charles de Gaulle: a critical assessment )'', Odyssey Press, p. 118. .〕 But local fishermen complained that large boats were coming from France to catch lobster off the state of Pernambuco, so the Brazilian Admiral Arnoldo Toscano ordered two corvettes to sail to the area where the French fishing boats were located.〔(1963), In ''(Arab Observer )'' National Publications House (Cairo, Egypt), p. 142. 〕 Seeing that the fishermen's claim was justifiable, the captain of the Brazilian vessel then demanded that the French boats receded to deeper water, leaving the continental shelf to smaller Brazilian vessels. The situation became very tense once the French rejected this demand and radioed a message asking for the French government to send a destroyer to accompany the lobster boats, which prompted the Brazilian government to put its many ships on state of alert. On the same day, Brazilian Foreign Minister Hermes Lima considered the French approach as an act of hostility, saying: "The attitude of France is inadmissible, and our government will not retreat. The lobster will not be caught." He called a secret meeting with his assistants to review the latest developments in the lobster war with France. Meanwhile, the French president Charles de Gaulle could not control his anger when Brazil interfered with the French fishing boats that were looking for lobsters too close to the Brazilian coast, like this the French Government dispatched on 21 February the 2750-ton T 53 class destroyer ''Tartu'' to watch over the fishing boats,〔On 21 February 1963, sailed from Toulon a task force headed by the aircraft carrier ''Clemenceau,'' followed by the cruisers ''De Grasse,'' ''Cassard,'' ''Jauréguiberry'' the destroyer Tartu (class T53), the corvettes ''Le Picard,'' ''Le Gascon,'' ''L'Agenais,'' ''Le Béarnais,'' ''Le Vendéen'' (all T52 class), the tanker ''La Baise'' and ''Paul Goffeny.'' Initially, it should be only "one more commission" off the west coast of Africa to show flag and perform routine exercises.〕 but it was promptly repelled by a Brazilian cruiser and an aircraft carrier.〔Kulski, W. W. (1966), In ''(De Gaulle and the World:The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic )'', Syracuse University Press, p. 360. ISBN 0-8156-0052-6.〕 The Brazilian President João Goulart then gave France 48 hours to withdraw all the French boats, but as they refused to leave the area the Brazilian navy apprehended the French vessel ''Cassiopée'' off the Brazilian coast on 2 January 1962.〔 By April 1963 both nations were considering whether they should go to war over lobsters or not.〔Ziegler, David W. (1990), In ''(War, peace, and international politics ),'' Scott Foresman, p. 362. ISBN 0-673-52023-4〕 And once controversy was raised over international water limits between the two countries, as Brazil rejected the French invitation to arbitrate the dispute, it was then taken to an international court.〔Bowett, D. W. (Ed.) (1985), In ''(The Law of the Sea )'', Manchester University Press, p. 36. 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lobster War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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