U.S. Border Patrol agents stopping and boarding Canadian fishing boats

GRAND MANAN, N.B. — At least 10 Canadian fishing boats from New Brunswick have been intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol agents since last week while fishing in the disputed waters around Machias Seal Island, a spokesperson for the fishermen says.

Laurence Cook, chair of the advisory board for Lobster Fishing Area 38, said Wednesday that some Canadian vessels were boarded by American agents who asked about possible illegal immigrants.

“There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding there somewhere,” Cook said in an interview. “They’re in international waters, so border patrol shouldn’t be boarding Canadian vessels.”

Machias Seal Island, which is about 19 kilometres southwest of Grand Manan Island and east of Maine, is in a disputed area known as the Grey Zone, where lobster fishermen from both Canada and the United States have long fished side by side.

However, both Canada and the United States claim sovereign jurisdiction over the island and the surrounding waters at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy.

It’s a cross-border dispute that dates back to the American Revolution in the late 1700s.

As lucrative lobster catches have increased in the zone, competition between fishermen has intensified.

“Neither country accepts that there is a Grey Zone,” said Stephen Kelly, a research scholar at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a former American diplomat who served in Canada. “That’s created more tension in the area over the last decade.”

Kelly said both countries have done very little to assert their claims.

“Sometimes doing nothing is better,” he said. “But in this case, just because it looks like it’s not broken can be very deceiving — especially with our new president in the United States. The last thing Canada wants is for Donald Trump to seize on this as an example of U.S. sovereignty being challenged.”

On Grand Manan, local residents are speaking out about the U.S. intervention, said Cook.

“I guess the comment on the street would be: ‘Typical American bullies,’” he said. “They’re not happy about it, and they don’t think (the Americans) have any business doing this.”

Cook said he’s never before seen border patrol agents in the area, where the U.S. Coast Guard typically patrols.

Global Affairs Canada distributed a brief statement saying it is investigating “these incidents that occurred in Canadian waters.”

Spokesman John Babcock said the Canadian government is also talking with U.S. agencies, though he did not provide details about the fishermen’s allegations or Ottawa’s response.

“Canada’s sovereignty over the Machias Seal Island and the surrounding waters is long standing and has a strong foundation in international law,” Babcock said.

“Until the matter of the boundary is resolved, we will continue to take practical steps with the U.S. to ensure that the area is well managed. Canada and the U.S. have a long history of co-operation which ensures that fishing in this area is well-managed and safe for both countries.”

The Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association issued a statement late Wednesday that used much the same language. As well, the group suggested the actions of the U.S. agents may have been routine.