Machias Seal Island

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short description Template:Infobox islands Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, about Template:Convert southeast from Cutler, Maine, and Template:Convert southwest of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Canada has had a permanent settlement on the island since 1832, when the lighthouse was first constructed. However, the United States also claims sovereignty of the island, despite never having physical presence on it. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff the lighthouse on the island.

Geography

The relationship of Machias Seal Island to the Grand Manan archipelago is unclear, but it may be a continuation of the exposed shoals, rocks, and islets strewn southwest of the Grand Manan Islands.Template:Fact The deeper Grand Manan Channel is situated to the north and west of the island, separating it from the coast of Washington County, Maine.

The climate and weather of Machias Seal Island is typical for the region. It is fog-bound for many days of the year, similar to the weather found at the nearby coasts of Maine and Grand Manan. The weather often causes rough waters, making any approach to the island hazardous.<ref name="boldcoast">Template:Cite web</ref>

Machias Seal Island is named because it is an exposed and barren island, devoid of any trees, and is attractive for seals using it as a prominence.<ref name="lorimer" /> Its geography and remote location also makes it valuable as a sanctuary for seabirds such as Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres, common terns,<ref name="waves">https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/56858.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref> and Arctic terns,<ref name="waves">https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/56858.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref> Leach's storm-petrels, and common eiders.

It is a neighbor to North Rock, Template:Convert away.

History

Britain established possession of Machias Seal Island and, under pressure from shipping interests at Saint John, constructed a lighthouse in 1832 at the cost of £746.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The initial contract had hoped to erect two lights, on the ENE and NNW sides of the island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The brig Charlotte was laden with cargo and last seen April 30 1829 just above Western Ledge, and the following morning the schooner Liberty found its longboat and floating wreckage six kilometers north of Machias Seal Island, while Dyer Wilcos found a dog from the ship and wreckage at Hay Point on the southern tip of Grand Manan, but no other hint as to the Charlotte's final resting place was ever determined.<ref name="wins">Allaby, Eric. "The Sea Always Win: Shipwrecks of the Bay of Fundy", 2022</ref>

As of 1842, Thomas Wyer was one of three commissioners of the lighthouses on Machias Seal Island, Campobello and at Saint Andrews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> British-Canadian Lighthouse keepers, James Connolly and his sons, were the sole residents of the island for 37 years, before retiring to Saint Andrews.<ref name="lorimer">Lorimer, John G. s:History of Islands & Islets in the Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick</ref>

From 1855-1875, John C. Conley was lightkeeper of Machias Seal Island, inheriting the position after assisting his father for ten years.<ref name="gree">https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?lang=en&record_id=record-10835-31007922 St. John Daily Sun Feb 24 1902 • Saint John</ref> In 1875 the fog whistle was replaced with a steam engine model, which required an engineer to operate so Conley was removed - although two years later he was appointed keeper of the Sand Reef, and later Drews Head, light stations.<ref name="gree"/>

On January 9, 1869, a Sackville brigantine loaded with lumber and hay struck Gull Rock, an islet a quarter-mile from Machias Seal Island; the 9-man crew was saved by the Connollys and billeted at the lighthouse for four days before being taken back to the mainland.<ref name="lorimer" /> Six similar shipwrecks occurred during their tenure.<ref name="lorimer" />

On April 22 1896, the wife of Charles F. Seeley gave birth to a daughter on the island<ref>Births, St. John Daily Sun Apr 28 1896 • Saint John</ref> and another on January 5 1899.<ref>Births, St. John Daily Sun,Jan 17 1899 • Saint John</ref>

In 1916, the lighthouse was completely rebuilt from concrete with a new lighting apparatus and fog alarm at a cost of $33,000.<ref>The Beacon : Vol. XXVIII, No. 35 (February 24, 1917)</ref>

Dispute

The Treaty of Paris ended the conflict surrounding the American Revolutionary War. Article 2 of that treaty set the boundaries: Template:Blockquote

The United States claims the island on the basis of its proximity to the American coast. Canada claims the island on the basis that territories already considered part of Nova Scotia ought to be continued as part of New Brunswick today. The "northwest angle" of Nova Scotia refers to what is today New Brunswick, and the Canada–U.S. border still follows today the St. Croix River and a line due north from its source. At the time of the treaty's writing, Grand Manan was considered to be farther North-Northeast from New England than it actually is. A line from the mouth of the St. Croix River to Brier Island and other parts of Nova Scotia across the Bay of Fundy would cross Grand Manan Island rather than contain the whole and its nearby islands. Once the St. Croix River was unambiguously identified following a commission provided by Jay's Treaty of 1794, it became clear that Machias Seal Island, as well as Grand Manan Island, was within 20 leagues (Template:Convert) of the shores of the United States and south of the line drawn due east from the mouth of the St. Croix River, but it remained unclear whether the islands were within the defined limits of Nova Scotia and its 1621 founding. That charter specifies Islands within six leagues of the boundary are part of Nova Scotia. These limits are written in the original text of the land grant dated 1621 to Sir William Alexander (founder of Nova Scotia) in which all "... islands, or seas lying near to, or within six leagues of any part ... of the said coasts" are deemed part of Nova Scotia. Machias Seal Island as well as numerous islands in Maine are located within six leagues from the original boundary line, although Britain would later cease its claims on other islands in eastern Maine, notably, Moose Island.

The ambiguities resulted in both countries claiming several islands in Passamaquoddy Bay, including Grand Manan. During the War of 1812, the United Kingdom occupied coastal Maine extending from the border with New Brunswick (created from Nova Scotia in 1784) west to the Penobscot River valley. During this time, tolls were charged upon residents at various occupied harbors in the area. The UK withdrew their forces upon signing the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, with the stipulation being that the boundary should be better delineated in the area of the Grand Manan Channel. In 1817, the decision of a joint commission declared that Moose, Dudley, and Frederick Islands belong to the United States, while Grand Manan and all other islands of the Passamaquoddy Bay belong to Canada.

The Treaty of Ghent also failed to settle the dispute while stating in Article Four:

Machias Seal Island is not directly mentioned, although Grand Manan is finally settled to be part of British-Canada, as are the coastal islands of Maine to be part of the US. Machias Seal Island was again not considered. Later boundary treaties and negotiations extended the seaward boundary in the Grand Manan Channel in 1908–1910 to its present terminus, roughly equidistant between Grand Manan Island and the coast of Maine, and several nautical miles northeast of Machias Seal Island.

The island has also been claimed by the descendants of "Tall Barney Beal", particularly Barna Norton, who ran boat tours to the island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Canadian interest

File:Machias Seal Island by FWS.png

Machias Seal Island lighthouse in 2022.

The United Kingdom, and later Canada, have maintained an ongoing interest in the island, largely through the continuous occupation of the lighthouse. Until the 1970s–1980s, lighthouse keepers from the Canadian Coast Guard would live on the island with their families.

Since 1944, the island has been protected under its designation as the Machias Seal Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary (a wildlife and seabird sanctuary), managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

The island has long been included in federal and provincial electoral districts, and policing has been enforced on the island by Royal Canadian Mounted Police and on waters surrounding the island by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In the 20th century, some Canadian residents placed mining claims on the island as an exercise of sovereignty, despite the fact that it is considered a protected area.Template:Fact

United States interest

In 1918, with Canadian agreement, a small detachment of U.S. Marines was placed on the island following the U.S. entry into the First World War, as a means to assist in protecting the territory and its key lighthouse guarding the entrance to the Bay of Fundy from German U-boat attack.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> These forces were withdrawn after several months, and no U.S. presence has been re-established since.

Gulf of Maine boundary

Sovereignty of Machias Seal Island (and North Rock) would likely not still be in question today if it were not for the decision by Canada and the United States to avoid settling this issue in their 1979 joint application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands to have the maritime boundary delineated in the Gulf of Maine for fishing and mineral exploration purposes on Georges Bank.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Both nations avoided having ICJ rule on the sovereignty of Machias Seal Island and North Rock by agreeing to have a common starting point for the offshore boundary southwest of the island at Template:Coord, as reflected in the final ruling in the case.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The gap in the agreed maritime boundary extends for several nautical miles from this point. Machias Seal Island and North Rock lie in an area of overlapping claims, known by local fishers as the "grey zone".

Conflict in grey zone

File:Cyprian Southack Bay of Fundy.png

Machias Seal Island, called "Mechyses Seal Island", as it appears on Cyprian Southack's 1731 map.

The "grey zone" is a Template:Convert gap between Canada and the United States that was designated in 1977.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> Without clear ownership of the area, both countries assert fishing efforts that have strained the lobster population and its respective economies.<ref name=":5">Lobster War: The Fight Over The World’s Richest Fishing Grounds (June 5, 2020). [Video]. YouTube. </ref> Rules and rights over the "grey zone" are governed by political and social factors, such as increased lobster fishing efforts and different management styles,<ref name=":2" /> which becomes a source of conflict when more than one entity seeks to control the space.<ref name=":3">Alexander, K. A. (2021). Conflicts Over Marine and Coastal Common Resources. Taylor & Francis.</ref> These political and social factors accentuate resource competition and eventually lead to conflict.<ref name=":3" /> The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) governs the Canadian lobster fisheries, but the United States' fisheries are governed both by the federal and the state governments.<ref name=":2" /> The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission governs the federal zone of Template:Convert and Template:Convert<ref name=":2" /> off of Maine, and the state government controls the area within Template:Convert<ref name=":2" /> offshore.

Canada and the United States separately manage their fisheries' guidelines regarding the use of the "grey zone."<ref name=":2" /> The international grey zone boundary led to a fishery dispute between Canadian and US lobster fishers that began in August 2002, when climate change began pushing lobster migration to the area. Within the disputed territory, Canadian and American trap fishers compete to fish for a valuable marine resource, lobster, and do not agree on management and conservation efforts. Fishers from both countries are impacted by drivers of change, including an economic imperative for growth, historical institutional failure in managing the ocean and coastal environment, and a changing social-ecological environment.<ref name=":3" />

Those issues are exacerbated by political and social factors including a lack of clear rules for both sides, which leaves both sides to perceive that the other side is taking what is perceived to be theirs. Both sides express a perception of unfair treatment from the opposing government but are in fact similarly impacted by continuing poor governance and management over the region. Direct conflict arises between fishers from both countries as they feel that their well-being is threatened, and they attempt to take matters into their own hands. That has led to destruction of each other's property and threats of harm.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> That tied hand in hand with the unfair treatment of fishermen who were trying to fish in the grey zone, an area that was deemed “undisputed land.” The reliance on lobster fishing from both the Canadian and American sides quickly became competitive for lobster.<ref name=":5" />

Both Canadian and American fishers have expressed concern about conservation and their need for security of supply; however, the continued escalation of the conflict between them only fuels damage to stocks and puts future harvests at risk for fishers of both countries. Canadians favored closure of the summer season to all fishers so that the lobster population had the opportunity to spawn and reproduce; Americans favored maximum catch limitations.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite journal</ref> Canadian fisheries perceived a decrease in their catch due to American fishing efforts during the Canadian off-season and responded by allowing their fisheries to operate during the same time period.<ref name=":2" /> The conflict over the "grey zone" was exacerbated when both countries' catch declined as well as the lobster population.<ref name=":2" /> The overlying issue is conservation of the lobster population; however, the governing bodies from Canada and the United States have differing opinions<ref name=":2" /> regarding management. This lack of cooperation from both nations perpetuated conflict that led to stock depletion.<ref name=":4" />

Current status

File:BirdsMSI.jpg

Seabirds on the rocky island

Since the 1984 ICJ ruling on the Gulf of Maine decided the fate of offshore boundaries,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Machias Seal Island and neighboring North Rock, an exposed rock outcropping about Template:Convert north-northeast at Template:Coord, as well as the surrounding waters, have become a political football for local politicians in fishing communities of coastal Charlotte County, New Brunswick and Washington County, Maine. There are few or no mineral or petroleum resources in the "grey zone" although there is a valuable lobster fishery, and fishermen from both countries exploit the lack of rules in the "grey zone" by overfishing various species.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1995, the Canadian Coast Guard dramatically reduced the number of staffed lighthouses on the Atlantic coast as a cost-saving measure. Today, all lighthouses in Eastern Canada except for the station on Machias Seal Island are unstaffed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Citation needed The Machias Seal Island light had been automated several years prior to the announcement, but Global Affairs Canada is now covering the Canadian Coast Guard's costs to maintain lightkeepers on Machias Seal Island "for sovereignty purposes."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The DFO had issued an updated sustainability development strategy to involve a commitment to knowledge and technology for sustainable development between 2001 and 2003. The two goals were to better understand the nature and use of marine and fresh water resources and ecosystems to support decision making, and to effectively apply that knowledge and new technology to support safe and sustainable use of marine and freshwater resources.<ref name=":4" />

Two lightkeepers are permanently stationed at the island's lone residence, rotating 4-week shifts by helicopter from Saint John.<ref>Machias Seal Island Lightstation Septic Systems Upgrade, Charlotte County, New Brunswick</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Citation</ref> The Coast Guard employees also assist the Canadian Wildlife Service in maintaining the Migratory Bird Sanctuary and help any wildlife researchers who may stay on the island for a period of time.

See also

• List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States
• List of islands of Maine
• List of islands of New Brunswick
• List of lighthouses in Maine
• List of lighthouses in New Brunswick

Further reading

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite web

External links

• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs
• Canadian Wildlife Service
• Atlantic Laboratory For Avian Research (ALAR) conducts scientific research on Machias Seal Island.
• Bold Coast Charter Company Commercial boat tours to island during summer
• Aids to Navigation Canadian Coast Guard
• Lobster War: The Fight Over the World's Richest Fishing Grounds (movie documentary)