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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 12
August 2007
Gray Zone dispute reappears in Canadian press
GRAND MANAN – In late June and early July, several news outlets reported that officials from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) were voicing concerns that Grand Manan fishermen were experiencing gear loss and traps being cut while fishing alongside Maine fishermen in what is known as the “Gray Zone.”
The 110-square-mile Gray Zone encompasses Machias Seal Island, which is located approximately 10 miles from Cutler, ME and about 12 miles southwest of Southwest Head on Grand Manan Island. The area is where the boundaries of the two countries overlap and are not delineated by the Hague Line.
The issue came to a head in 2002 when DFO extended Canada’s Lobster Fishing Area 38B season into the summer months for Canadian fishermen.
According to a July 9 online news report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), New Brunswick’s provincial Minister of Fisheries Rick Doucet was becoming involved in the longstanding boundary dispute between Canada and the US.
Doucet said the situation was unfair to Grand Manan fishermen who, the article said, were “watching the lobsters disappear.”
“I’d just like to establish some dialogue with them,” Doucet told the CBC.
The article further stated that Doucet intended to send a letter to Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe to ask for a meeting to come up with a way to protect the fishery until the boundary dispute is resolved.
“We all have a vested interest here and it’s something I should be front and center on to establish the dialogue, to basically get the ball rolling so the parties do come to the table here,” the CBC quoted Doucet as saying.
The boundary dispute and the lobster fishery are federal matters, which officially are outside of Doucet’s jurisdiction.
ME fishermen upset
Sheila and Mike Dassatt, who represent the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association (DELA), said they had heard from Cutler fishermen who fish the Gray Zone that fishermen there were confused and angered by the news reports.
According to DELA, the Cutler fishermen disagreed that there were as many as 50 Maine fishermen fishing in waters in the Gray Zone as the media had reported.
They also were upset that Maine fishermen in this area have to comply with Zone A rules and Maine state laws that govern the number of traps fished, v-notching, and minimum and maximum gauges for lobsters, while the Canadians manage the lobster fishery primarily with closed seasons, though they do have gauge requirements.
One DELA board member said he had fished in the Gray Zone for 30 years and it made Maine lobster fishermen sick to see Canadians taking lobsters to market that they have been throwing back for conservation reasons for over 50 years.
As far as gear conflicts, DELA reported that the differences in the way Canadian fishermen rig and set their traps – combined with tides, heavy seas, currents, and fog – made fishing in some crowded areas of the Gray Zone more difficult.
Cutler fishermen also said they have to endure gear loss by Canadian fishermen. One Cutler lobsterman reported losing a complete 12-trap trawl and that one end was cut off by a knife. He got the poly ball back from a friend who found it tangled with his gear. The lobsterman said the trawl would cost him about $1,200 to replace.
No word yet
In mid-July, Lapointe said, “The Canadians seem to be interested in re-engaging the discussion to try to come to a resolution.”
Bilateral talks on an array of fishery issues that affect the two countries are held twice a year between the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and DFO, he explained.
In the past, Lapointe has been invited by NMFS to attend these meetings, but at press time, he had not received a letter from Doucet or heard anything on the bilateral talks.
Rosanne Mizzoni
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