Belgium to use 354 year-old letter to justify fishing in UK waters

The "Fisheries Privilege" original document, signed by King Charles II in 1666, giving 50 fishermen from Belgian city of Bruges the eternal rights to access British waters./Christian Levaux/Reuters

A charter dating from the 17th century could give Belgian fishermen a legal basis to keep fishing in British fishing waters if the UK and EU fail to reach an agreement ahead of their December 31 deadline.

The 1666 treaty, written in Latin and signed by King Charles II, authorized 50 Flemish fishing boats to fish in British waters 'forever'. The right was granted to the citizens of Bruges in Flanders, the Flemish city that had granted the British king protection during the English Civil War in the 1640s.

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According to Hilde Crevits, economy minister of Flanders, the Privilege, as the document is called, is still valid.

"We have been looking for old pieces that might exist and that is how the 1666 Privilege surfaced," she said. "This shows that 50 Bruges fishermen are allowed to fish forever in the twelve-mile zone off the coast of the United Kingdom. We have a fleet of 67 vessels, so this privilege could help many of our fishermen," Crevits told the Belgian Radio 1 on 'De wereld vandaag' ('The world today').

Charles II returned from exile to become king in 1660, following the death of Parliamentary leader Oliver Cromwell, who had his father, Charles I executed in 1649. Duncan1890/Getty Creative

According to the minister, Flemish fishermen get half of their catches in British waters. Crevits said that if necessary to avoid local fishing being decimated, they will resort to using the treaty.

The UK, on the other side, says that other later treaties supersede the 1666 charter.

"The basic problem lies with the fact that the British do not want non-British ships to enter the 12-mile zone off their coast after the completion of Brexit," said Crevits. This follows the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to which each country's sovereign territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles beyond its coast.

Belgian historian and archivist Jan D'hondt looks at a "Fisheries Privilege" original document./Christian Levaux/Reuters

It's not the first time a Flemish politician has mentioned the 17^th century document, discovered in 1963 in the archives of Bruges. Three years ago, then Flemish Prime Minister Geert Bourgeois, brought up the document as a viable option for an agreement among the UK and EU on fisheries.

Trade talks between the EU and Britain, resumed on Thursday, are still stumbling across several issues, including fishing.