Britain Expands Fishing Limits Around Falklands

Britain announced on Wednesday that it is greatly expanding fishing limits around the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic archipelago that was at the center of a war with Argentina four years ago.

Britain imposed a 200-mile fishing limit around the islands and said strict enforcement within 150 miles will begin Feb. 1.

Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe, reporting the declaration of the conservation zone to the House of Commons, said Britain might “use armed force in appropriate circumstances” to protect its rights.

Howe said that failure to reach agreements on fishing with the Argentine government and its “aggressive patrolling” of waters within 200 miles of the Falklands coast had spurred the government to action. Previously, a three-mile limit was in force. Falklanders have complained that squid, hake and blue whiting species are endangered by overfishing from foreign fleets.

In Buenos Aires, Argentine President Raul Alfonsin denounced the decision as “a new attitude of provocation by Britain.” Alfonsin met with his top civilian and military advisers to discuss the development but did not decide immediately how to respond, said spokesman Jose Ignacio Lopez.

Argentine politicians’ reactions ranged from calls for action by the armed forces to seizing British assets in Argentina and refusing to service its debts to British banks.

Sovereignty Claimed

Argentina, which calls the islands the Malvinas, has claimed sovereignty over the archipelago for 150 years. Argentine troops invaded the Falklands, situated 300 miles east of Argentina, in 1982 but were soundly defeated by Britain in a 74-day war.

In his announcement, Howe said the Falklands government will enforce the limit with its own patrol boats and surveillance aircraft after it goes into effect Feb. 1.

“We are delighted by the declaration because we feared that overfishing was destroying the best natural asset of our islands,” said Derek Ogden, head of the Falklands office in London.

He said that in the first eight months of last year, an estimated 381,000 tons of fish were netted, compared with 349,000 tons in the whole of 1984, and that 80% of the fishing was by the Communist East Bloc.

Soviet-Argentine Pact

Parliament members of Britain’s opposition Labor Party said the move could provoke a high-seas clash with the Soviet Union, one of the world’s largest fishing nations. The Soviets recently concluded a pact with Argentina for its vessels to fish in the region.

George Foulkes, Labor Party foreign affairs spokesman who recently visited Argentina, called the decision “extremely provocative.”

The Foreign Office said that terms of Britain’s declaration were sent to the 12-nation European Communities, the United Nations and the world’s major fishing nations, including the Soviet Union.

A spokesman for the Argentine government said it was informed of Britain’s decision through the Swiss Embassy, which has represented British interests in Argentina since diplomatic relations were severed after the Falklands War broke out.