THE HAGUE, Netherlands — January 27, 2014 — The United Nations’ highest court was ruling Monday on a dispute between Peru and Chile that centers on thousands of square kilometers of ocean and lucrative fishing grounds but has turned into an issue of national pride for the Latin American neighbors.
The International Court of Justice decision is expected to establish which country owns some 38,000 square kilometers (14,670 square miles) of ocean in a zone extending to the limit of each country’s territorial waters.
Peru is seeking recognition of a maritime border perpendicular to the coast. Chile insists the border is on a line horizontal to the earth’s axis.
The disputed zone includes one of the world’s richest fishing grounds, with an annual catch of US$200 million estimated by Peru’s fishing industry. The bulk of the catch is an anchovy species that is mostly converted into fish meal, which can be used in animal feed and fertilizers.
But, for many, the case launched in 2008 by Peru is a matter of national pride. Chile seized its three northernmost provinces during the 1879-83 War of the Pacific from Peru and Bolivia, which lost its only coast in the conflict.
If Peru wins, some 2,000 Chilean fishermen fear they could lose their jobs.
Read the full story by the Associated Press at The Boston Globe