"They are harassed": Canadian anger over fishing boats stopped by US patrol boats in disputed waters

The last border dispute between Canada and the United States again occurred after the US patrol boats reportedly intercepted and embarked Canadian fishing boats in disputed waters around Machias Seal Island, a windswept spur between New Brunswick and Maine.

Global Affairs Canada says it is studying the incidents, pointing out that it considers the rich lobster fishing areas Rick Doucet, New Brunswick's fisheries minister, told the National Post Wednesday that fishermen They informed that "heavily armed" border patrol agents were climbing on lobster fishing boats, saying that they were looking for illegal immigrants.

"Is it overfishing? Absolutely. Absolutely exaggerated," said Doucet, whose constituency includes Grand Manan Island, where Canadian boats are based.

"It's very troubling to see fishermen on the water, to do their job, to provide for their families … harbaded, "he said, Canadian fishermen are being harbaded by the US Border Patrol. for me, we must stop immediately. "

A former American diplomat in Canada says that episodes at the end of last month underscore the need for both countries to settle their dispute over the so-called" gray zone "surrounding the Island before it degenerates into violence.

It is very disturbing to see fishermen on the water, to do their job, to provide for their families … and they are harbaded

"Border disputes do not go away they are burning and something is going on, "said Stephen Kelly, now a researcher at Duke University. "Why wait until it gets uglier?"

The Grand Manan Fishermen's Association said on Wednesday that it understood that the US Customs and Border Patrol had approached "some" of its fishermen in the disputed area of ​​165 square kilometers. "We understand that this was part of a regular exercise conducted along the US maritime boundary," the badociation said in a statement.

The group indicated that it was working with the Canadian government to ensure that its members could continue to use the fishery. in a "normal" way, noting that they had previously maintained a "respectful and cordial" relationship with their American counterparts.

A Facebook post of June 25 by Laurence Cook, chairman of the badociation's fisheries committee, was less diplomatic. The US Border Patrol attempted to stop Grand Manan's fisherman, Nick Brown, in the gray zone, he wrote.

"He informed them that it was a Canadian ship legally fishing in Canadian waters. Good answer Nick, "said Cook." Typical American bullies. Proud Nick is not surprised to see Americans trying to push people.

Cook stated that the US patrol's claim to seeking illegal immigrants was "bulls"

Brown was not able to be contacted for comment.

John Babbad, A Global Affairs Canada spokesman said the government continued to investigate incidents "in Canadian waters," in part by collaborating with US agencies involved

"Canada's sovereignty over Machias Seal Island and the surrounding waters has been around for a long time. At the end of the day – the day of the American Independence Day – a spokesman for the US Border Patrol said that his agents were carrying out regular operations "

" The Border Patrol does not embark Canadian ships in the gray area without their consent or likely cause and only conduct interviews, as a ship runs parallel to it, tilts towards the stern, "The spokesperson added via e-mail

US patrol boats would view the area as US sovereign waters where "they could stop any boat that worried them," said Kelly, a former chef de mission at his country's embbady in Ottawa.

Indeed, it is not for nothing that the area is called the gray area – gray area for Americans.

Tiny Machias Seal Island itself is not a geopolitical trophy, although it is home to a multitude of puffins. The argument is over the ocean that surrounds it and the lobster hides under the waves

Fishermen from Maine and New Brunswick – and sometimes from Nova Scotia – have generally competed peacefully for the resource, but the tensions ignite. An American lobster was snatched the thumb in 2007 while he was unraveling equipment during a clash with a Canadian

"Someone is going to get killed," he said. a Maine lobster officer at Macleans magazine eight years later

. Canada's sovereignty over Machias Seal Island and surrounding waters has a long history and is firmly grounded in international law

A Canadian-owned lighthouse is on the island and the puffin is being patrolled by the Canadian Wildlife Service. But a succession of border agreements of the peace treaty of 1783 – between the New Independent States and Great Britain – until a 1984 International Court of Justice case failed to resolve the fate of the United States. the island Machias Seal and its waters. Kelly, but orderly access to the waters is "vital" for both fishing industries.

He argued that Canada and the United States should submit the dispute to arbitration to the world. court. Conflict resolution does not necessarily mean the surrender of waters and the island to one nation or another, Kelly said.

The question of sovereignty could be avoided, for example, instead of a formal agreement on stock sharing.

( History modified to include a commentary by the US Customs and Border Patrol )