US Border Patrol stops Canadian fishing vessels in disputed waters

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Updated 5 July 2018 3:01 PM EDT

A Canadian fishermen's badociation reports that US Border Patrol officers arrested and interrogated several Canadian fishermen in the waters that are the subject of fishing. a territorial dispute in progress.

Reports on two ships in particular, arrested on June 24 and 25, where US agents claimed to "look for illegal immigrants," according to Canadian magazine CBC News. Laurence Cook, president of the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association, based in New Brunswick, Canada, said that at least 10 boats had been stopped in a two-week period in the area around the island. Machias Seal Island. The island is about 10 miles offshore between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy.

A statement from the badociation released Wednesday indicates that the waters have been fished by American and Canadian crews for years. The group said it understood that the latest stops were part of a "regular exercise conducted along the US maritime boundary" and said it hoped to pursue a "respectful and cordial relationship" with its American counterparts.

U.S. Officials told CBC News that border services officers were in the area to "enforce immigration laws and other violations of federal law."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed in an email to CBS News that 21 Canadian vessels have been "interviewed" until now this year in the Houlton area along the Maine coast. "The Border Patrol does not board Canadian ships without consent or probable cause, and only conducts interviews when a ship is docking and bowing at the stern," he added.

Without directly addressing the territorial dispute, the CBP conducts operations in waters off the Maine coast in United States territorial waters.

On its website, CPB describes its air and marine operations as performing its mission "at the border and beyond". According to the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association, "Canada's sovereignty over the region has been around for a long time and has a solid foundation in international law," although the United States challenges Canada's claim.