User:Inareten/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inareten/sandbox
Company typePublic, multiple shareholders
IndustryFisheries
FoundedJuly 7, 1927; 96 years ago (1927-07-07) in Port Louis, Mauritius
HeadquartersPort Louis, Mauritius,
Praslin Street, Port Louis & Île Raphael
,
Mauritius.
Number of locations
13
Area served
Cargados Carajos Archipelago & Mauritius
ProductsFishing and Fisheries
Number of employees
40 -60
Websitehttps://www.stbrandon.com

The Raphaël Fishing Company Ltd is a Mauritian fishing company founded by its namesake Veuve Raphaël and incorporated on 7 July 1927 in Port Louis, Mauritius.[1]

The company is a commercial fisheries company which is notable under Common Law for having set legal precedent in the conversion of its 122-year old unlimited Jouissance (Permanent Lease/ 999-year lease) into a Permanent Grant[2] by the Privy Council (United Kingdom) in 2008[3] giving it title[4] to thirteen islands known as The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon in the Indian Ocean on the isolated archipelago of the Cargados Carajos shoals.[5][6]

Fishing operations[edit]

Raphael Fishing Company has resident fishermen and fishing stations on the Cargados Carajos shoals.[7][8] The Company provides support, victuals and infrastructure to sustain fishing and associated activities from fishing stations in St Brandon[9] and through offices in Port Louis.

Fishing operations are artisanal[clarification needed] and carried out by fishermen in teams of two using fibre glass pirogues with two outboard motors for propulsion, as nets are illegal in St Brandon.[10]

The company's primary ships in 2022 were MV Albatross and MV Fregate which were specially designed and commissioned in 2017 to transport fish, supplies and personnel between fishing stations in St. Brandon and Port Louis, Mauritius (a distance of circa 469 km), where the fish is sold immediately upon arrival.[11][12]

Legal History and Permanent Grant[edit]

VOC - Logo of the Dutch East India Company
Logo of the Dutch East India Company

The Legal history of Mauritius is closely correlated to its commercial, social and cultural development since the Dutch landed in 1638.[13] In Raphael Fishing Company’s case, the forging of the Company’s permanent grant to thirteen of the thirty islands of the Cargados Carajos shoals is the product of the social and commercial development of Mauritius from 1638 to 2008.

1689 map showing the Mascarene Islands
1689 map showing the Mascarene Islands and two ‘’ghost’’ islands: ‘’Juan de Lisboa’’ and ‘’dos Romeiros’’)
  • In 1710, the Dutch abandoned Mauritius.
Isle de France (Mauritius)
Isle de France (Mauritius) under the French
  • In September 1715, Guillaume Dufresne d'Arsel took possession of Mauritius which became a French colony and was renamed Isle de France. The Grants or Jouissances System of Land Tenure was central to the colonisation of Mauritius. Land was granted to individuals -and subsequently to companies- in exchange for the urgent development the economy of the Isle de France and that of its surrounding islands including St Brandon which was one of many islands recognised as being a constituent part of Mauritius.
  • In 1765, the ownership of the Isle de France together with associated islands reverted to the French Crown.

Prior to the colonisation of Mauritius, most islands were covered by dense forests. The settlers needed to become self-sufficient in food to survive but also to supply garrisoned troops and visiting ships. To carry out organised agricultural activity on any meaningful scale, it was imperative to clear forests and woodlands.[14] To succeed, where the Dutch had failed, French authorities actively encouraged the development of agriculture through the granting of literally hundreds of concessions (jouissances) of land to individuals for them to clear land and to produce much-needed food.

A jouissance or lease could be granted either for a limited or an unlimited period.

  • In 1810, Britain took the Isle de France (Mauritius) by force of arms. The Isle de France (Mauritius) regained its original 1638 Dutch name of ‘‘Mauritius’’. In keeping with British constitutional practice, Mauritius was allowed to continue operating under the French legal system, the Napoleonic Code. The Civil Rights of the Mauritian people therefore remained unaffected by the forceful takeover of Mauritius and its transition to British rule.

The practice of encouraging land development by means of the grant of limited and unlimited land concessions continued with the British. One of the specific types of land tenure concession granted, first by the French and then by the British, was the “jouissance” where the ‘’droit de jouissance’’ effectively included three rights under English (and French) law: the right of possession, the right of usufruct and the right of enjoyment. [15]

  • In 1816, the Surveyor General reported that for the whole of Mauritius 432,680 Arpents had been distributed.[16]
  • In 1820, the Governor General of Mauritius granted various jouissances covering five groups of islands in St Brandon Archipelago.[17]
  • In 1928, the Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., purchased the rights and interests of St Brandon Fish & Manure Co. Ltd., under the 11 October 1901 Deed, after it had gone into liquidation, from Mr. Ulcoq who had bought them from the liquidator in 1925. The sale to M. Ulcoq and the subsequent sale to Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., were duly approved by the State.
  • On 11 August 1995, Court proceedings were started by The Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., against a Mr Talbot who purported to own six islands and the Iles Boisées. The proceedings were against M. Talbot with the State of Mauritius as a co-defendant.
  • On 30 May 2005, the legal proceedings by Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., appeared to have come to an unsuccessful end in Mauritian Courts which refused the Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., leave to appeal to the UK Privy Council.
  • On 27 July 2006, the UK Privy Council granted the Raphael Fishing Co. Ltd., leave to appeal.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal of Mauritius. After independence in 1968, the Privy Council was maintained as the highest court of appeal. The Judicial Committee may also grant special leave to appeal from the decision of any court in any civil or criminal matter in line with section 81(5) of the Constitution of Mauritius.[18]

The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon[edit]

18th Century Map of St Brandon by French Navy Hydrographers

The Thirteen[23] Islands of St. Brandon that are individual parts of the Mauritia (microcontinent) and which were adjudged as a Permanent Grant by the Privy Council (United Kingdom) to Raphaël Fishing Company in 2008[24] are:

  • 1.Île Raphael (Raphaël Island)
  • 2. L'île du Sud (South Island, l'île Boisées, l'île Boisée)
  • 3. Petit Fou Island
  • 4. Avocaré Island (Avocaré Avoquer, L'Avocaire)
  • 5. l'île aux Fous (Fous, Ile Fou)
  • 6. L'île du Gouvernement Government Island
  • 7. Petit Mapou Island (Small Mapou)
  • 8. Grand Mapou Island (Big Mapou)
  • 9. La Baleine Island (Whale Island
  • 10. L'Île Coco (Coco Island, Île Cocos, Île aux Cocos)
  • 11. Île Verronge
  • 12. l'île aux Bois (Wooded Island)
  • 13. La Baleine Rocks (Whale Rocks)

The St. Brandon isles[25] are visited by less than 2000 people per annum. There is an administrative Government quota of two hundred non-Mauritians per annum.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Privy Council (United Kingdom) (30 July 2008). "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v The State of Mauritius and Another (Mauritius)". Vlex. pp. Point 5. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v The State of Mauritius and Another (Mauritius)". vLex. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  3. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". www.saflii.org. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  4. ^ dls (2021-09-29). "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v The State of Mauritius and Another: PC 30 Jul 2008". swarb.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  5. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v The State of Mauritius and Another (Mauritius)". vLex.
  6. ^ "Le bail permanent de Raphaël Fishing confirmé sur St.-Brandon". lexpress.mu (in French). 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  7. ^ "St Brandon: 11 – 21 Nov 2019" (PDF). 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Saint Brandon". Retrieved 20 January 2023. but the Mauritian company Raphaël Fishing, which manages the fishing activities in the archipelago and owns two small lodges to the South and the North (...)
  9. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008) Privy Council Appeal No 54 of 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 7 January 2023. The St Brandon Archipelago lies about 250 miles north of the main island of Mauritius. It consists of five groups of in total 22 islands or islets, with an aggregate land area no greater than about half a square mile and prone to substantial submersion in severe weather. Their practical utility lies in the fishing around them on the very extensive shallow bank covering some 900 square miles around them: see the Surveyor General's Report to the Colonial Secretary dated 1st June 1863, para. 4. Most of the islands were in use as fishing stations by the early 19th century, though these stations suffered disastrous inundations in 1812 and again 1818: see the Limuria Book Part 2 Chap. VII, p.188
  10. ^ "The Fisheries Act". Blue Economy. p. 34. Retrieved 13 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Ship ALBATROSS (Fishing) Registered in Mauritius - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 0, MMSI 645476000, Call Sign 3B2164". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  12. ^ "Ship FREGATE (Fishing) Registered in Mauritius - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 0, MMSI 645475000, Call Sign 3B2163". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  13. ^ "International law - Historical development". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  14. ^ Béchet, Octave (1992). Les défricheurs de l'Ile de France: essai de biographie : contribution à l'étude de l'établissement de l'Ile Maurice par la Compagnie des Indes, 1722-1767 (in French). Michel Robert.
  15. ^ Services, ProZ com Translation. "droit de jouissance | French to English | Real Estate". ProZ.com | Freelance translators and interpreters. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  16. ^ "Truth and Justice Commission". Researchgate (2 ed.). p. 38. Retrieved 20 January 2023. However, in 1816, the Surveyor General reported that for the whole island 432,680 had been distributed ...
  17. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v The State of Mauritius and Another (Mauritius)". vLex. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  18. ^ Group, Temple (2020-11-27). "COURT JURISDICTION – SUPREME COURT AND THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL". Temple Group | Mauritius. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  19. ^ "THE CONSTITUTION of the REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS" (PDF). Mauritius Parliament. May 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  20. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". www.bailii.org. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  21. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". www.saflii.org. Retrieved 2023-01-20. LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE : For the reasons given in the above judgment the Board will allow this appeal, set aside the orders made in the courts below and declare that the appellant is the holder of a permanent grant of the islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed (transcribed in Vol TB25 No 342) subject to the conditions therein referred to; order the removal from the Register maintained by the Conservator of Mortgages in Mauritius of all relevant entries concerning the Deed of Sale transcribed in Vol 3131 No 52; and grant a perpetual injunction restraining M. Talbot, his agents, servants or employees from interfering with the appellant's possession of the islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed.
  22. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". www.bailii.org. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  23. ^ "The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008)". www.bailii.org. Retrieved 2023-01-20. In 1820 the then Governor General of Mauritius granted jouissances in respect of the five groups as follows. He granted to Ozile Majestre alone a joussance exclusive over one group, the Iles Boisées, and to two individuals, Ozile Majestre and Dominique Bétuel, jouissances en partage over another group of six islands (Petits Foux, Lavocaire and four others). He granted three further jouissances exclusives to respectively M. Burceret (La Baleine and l'île aux Cocos), Mme. Veuve Raphaël (l'île Raphaël) and Mr William Stone (Ile Veronge and Ile aux Bois). All these jouissances were unlimited in time.
  24. ^ The Raphael Fishing Company Ltd v. The State of Mauritius & Anor (Mauritius) [2008] UKPC 43 (30 July 2008). 2008. p. 71. LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE : For the reasons given in the above judgment the Board will allow this appeal, set aside the orders made in the courts below and declare that the appellant is the holder of a permanent grant of the islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed (transcribed in Vol TB25 No 342) subject to the conditions therein referred to; order the removal from the Register maintained by the Conservator of Mortgages in Mauritius of all relevant entries concerning the Deed of Sale transcribed in Vol 3131 No 52; and grant a perpetual injunction restraining M. Talbot, his agents, servants or employees from interfering with the appellant's possession of the islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed.
  25. ^ Walter, Karen (2018-11-10). "Saint-Brandon: un sanctuaire vierge à protéger". lexpress.mu (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-17.

Category:Fishing areas of the Indian Ocean Category:Atolls of the Indian Ocean Category:Companies of Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius Category:Companies based in Port Louis Category:Industry in Mauritius

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Inareten/sandbox&oldid=1144515888"