ABSTRACT
The inability of the Argentine Government to budge from its position made it impossible to move forward on the negotiation of other issues. Yet other issues had to be addressed, of which the most important was fishing. When the 1982 Shackleton report had proposed a 200 mile fisheries limit this was roundly derided in an inter-agency assessment. Three problems were seen. First, the proposed limits would be contested by Argentina. Second, highly expensive exploratory fishing projects were proposed without any evidence that largescale commercial operations would be viable. Third, enforcement would require specialised vessels and aircraft and would add significantly to the cost. Officials spoke of an initial outlay of £100 million and annual operating costs of £50 million. When announcing decisions on Shackleton’s recommendations the Government simply said that this proposal required further study.
