Normal Contact
Hydrodynamic Thrust
Current Drag
Real-Time Hydrodynamic Telemetry
Ground Contact Force
11.76 N
Hydrodynamic Drag
0.42 N
Reynolds Number (Re)
14,250
Seabed Contact Ratio
100%
Pernambuco Shelf EEZ Blockade Map
8°03'S 34°54'W
The "Walk vs Swim" Legal Controversy
In 1961, French vessel Guayras began capturing spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) off Pernambuco, Brazil. Brazil invoked Article 2 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, claiming sovereign rights over natural resources on or under the seabed.
"Brazil argued lobsters move by crawling along the shelf bottom, making them benthic shelf resources. France argued lobsters swim through water via tail propulsion, making them pelagic high-seas fishery."
Adm. Paulo Moreira da Silva famously remarked: "If lobsters are fish because they swim when they jump, then a kangaroo is a bird because it flies when it hops."