Norway Supreme Court bans EU ships from fishing Arctic snow crab due to oil concerns.
Norway's Supreme Court has ruled that only Norwegian vessels can fish for snow crab off the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, denying a Latvian fisheries company's application for a fishing license. The ruling has implications for oil, minerals, and other natural resources in the region. The 1920 Svalbard Treaty grants Norway sovereignty over the Arctic islands, but with the condition that other signatories have access to their territorial waters. The case may continue as an international legal dispute, as other states may not necessarily accept this as the final solution.