⁍ Belgium may resort to a 17th century charter granted by a British king to retain fishing rights in Britain’s coastal waters.

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⁍ With just over two months until Britain ends its transition period out of the EU, Belgium will lose access to much of the area it fishes in the North Sea if there is no deal.

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⁍ However, a document in Latin issued to Flanders in July 1666 by Britain’s King Charles II gives 50 Flemish fishing boats access to British waters for perpetuity.

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– In July 1666, King Charles II signed a document giving the Belgian city of Bruges “the eternal right to sail with 50 boats in those coastal waters” in honor of his father, who had been beheaded during England’s Civil War, Reuters reports. Now, with Britain poised to leave the European Union at the end of the year, Belgium says it may resort to a similar 17th-century charter to retain fishing rights in British waters. “Knowing how Britain is attached to old habits and old laws, it may have a chance,” says Jan d’Hondt, head archivist in the port city of Bruges, where the “Civitas Brugensis” charter was issued. “Where would we have to fish then? We can’t go anywhere,” says a Belgian born to an English mother who works with a red and white trawler. “I have hope in that document.” Belgium’s economy minister says more than half of its fishing income comes from fish caught in British waters. If access to British waters is lost, “it could be the death knell for our fisheries,” she says. “As a consequence, if you have a very old document … where the king says you have the eternal right to sail with 50 boats in those coastal waters, yes then we will use that if necessary.” Britain says other treaties, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, trump the charter.