The Journal Explainer: Where is Rockall and why has it sparked tensions between the Irish and Scottish governments? Around 260 miles – or 419km – off the cost of Donegal sits the small uninhabited island of Rockall.
Ownership of the island and the fishing rights in the waters surrounding it have become a hot topic in recent days after the Scottish government said it would apprehend Irish vessels found fishing in Rockall’s waters. The island itself is located around 240 miles – or 386km – from St Kilda’s, an archipelago to the north-west of Scotland.
Maritime law dictates that fishing rights in the 12 nautical miles surrounding the island, which have been claimed by the UK, belong to Britain.
This is complicated though by the fact that the ratification of the UN convention on the law of the seas in 1972 states that unless an island is habitable, a state cannot lay claim to the territorial waters around an island. The latest move from Scotland has sparked tensions between Edinburgh and Dublin with the Irish government rejecting Scotland’s move to rid the 12 nautical miles around Rockall of Irish vessels despite them fishing there undisturbed for decades.
The Irish government has thrown its support behind Irish fishing vessels who today continued to fish there today. With the potential to sour relations further in the ongoing Brexit saga, TheJournal.ie is taking a look at how a small island in the Atlantic Ocean has caused a huge headache for politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea.
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