Editing Rockall (section)

=== United Kingdom ===

[[File:Rockall EEZ topographic map-en.svg|thumb|[[Exclusive economic zone]]s of the UK, Ireland, Faroe Islands (Denmark), and Iceland around Rockall]]

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland claims Rockall along with a {{convert|12|nmi|km|0|adj=mid|-radius}} territorial sea around the islet inside the country's [[exclusive economic zone]] (EEZ).<ref name="whatdotheyknow.com"/> The UK also claims "a circle of UK sovereign airspace over the islet of Rockall".<ref name="whatdotheyknow.com"/>

The UK claimed Rockall on 18 September 1955 when "Two Royal Marines and [[James Fisher (naturalist)|a civilian naturalist]], led by Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Desmond Scott, raised a Union flag on the islet and cemented a plaque into the rock".<ref name="bbc70"/> Prior to this Rockall was legally ''[[terra nullius]]''.<ref name="isles"/> The British [[Island of Rockall Act 1972]] (c. 2) formally [[annexed]] Rockall to the United Kingdom.<ref name=isles /> In May 2017, declassified documents revealed that the 1955 decision to claim the rock as UK territory was motivated by worries that it could otherwise be used by "hostile agents" to spy on the future [[South Uist#Missile testing|South Uist]] [[Deep Sea Range|missile testing range]].<ref name="bcc31"/>

The UK considers the rock administratively part of the Isle of [[Harris, Outer Hebrides|Harris]]. A [[radio beacon|navigational beacon]] was installed on the island in 1982<ref name="heavy"/> and the UK declared that no ship would be allowed within a {{convert|50|nmi|km|adj=on}} radius of the rock.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} However, in 1988, the United Kingdom and Ireland signed an EEZ boundary agreement for which "the location of Rockall was irrelevant to the determination of the boundary".<ref name="EEZ"/>   In 1997, the UK ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which states that "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". This limits territorial sea claims to a {{convert|12|nmi|km|adj=on}} radius, and therefore allows free passage in waters beyond this. Under the [[Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999]] the area around it was declared to be under the [[jurisdiction]] of [[Scots law]] rather than English law.

As the rock lies within the United Kingdom's EEZ, the UK has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources of the area, including jurisdiction over the protection and preservation of the marine environment.<ref name="legislation.gov.uk"/><ref name="unorg"/>

Early in January 2021, after [[Brexit|the UK left the EU]] and the [[EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement]] came into force, the ''Northern Celt'', an Irish fishing boat based out of [[Greencastle, County Donegal]], was ordered to leave the 12-nautical-mile zone around Rockall by officers of [[Marine Scotland]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55552455 |title=Irish boat blocked from fishing off Rockall |publisher=BBC |date=6 January 2021 |access-date=8 January 2021}}</ref>  Since 2021, fishing licences issued by the UK to EU vessels have excluded access to the 12 nautical mile zone around Rockall. In 2023, Irish [[Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine]] [[Charlie McConalogue]] stated that this action was costing the Irish fishing industry up to €7 million per year.<ref name=dj-20230315>{{cite news |url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/politics/greencastle-fishers-losing-up-to-30-of-income-due-to-britains-outrageous-rockall-blockade-4065172 |title=Greencastle fishers losing up to 30% of income due to Britain's 'outrageous' Rockall blockade |last=Mullan |first=Kevin |website=Derry Journal |date=15 March 2023 |access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=dj-20230209>{{cite news |url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/environment/rockall-blockade-is-costing-donegal-fishermen-millions-of-euro-deputy-maclochlainn-4021447 |title=Rockall blockade is costing Donegal fishermen 'millions' of euro - Deputy MacLochlainn |last=Glenn |first=Laura |website=Derry Journal |date=9 February 2023 |access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref> In 2024, a proposed bilateral agreement between the governments of Ireland and Scotland that would have allowed Irish fishing vessels to return to the 12 nautical mile zone was vetoed by United Kingdom [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]] [[David Cameron]].<ref name="FishingNews">{{cite news |url=https://fishingnews.co.uk/news/rockall-deal-vetoed-by-david-cameron/ |title=Rockall deal vetoed by David Cameron |website=FishingNews.co.uk |date=4 June 2024 |access-date=11 March 2025 }}</ref>