In September, France President Emmanuel Macron pledged to grant an exploratory snow crab license to a fishing company in St. Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas French territory located just over 10 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The area where fishing would occur if a license were to be issued, however, lies in waters that are claimed by Canada as part of its continental shelf.
Therefore, Macron’s pledge seemed to catch Canadian officials off guard when it was first reported by French media, with Canada Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson stating the Canadian government has been in contact with French officials to confirm they have not issued a new license.
"Canada affirms our claim to the extension of Canada's continental shelf, which includes all snow crab in this area," Thompson said in a statement to CBC News. "Canada does not agree with any foreign snow crab fishing in this area."
The reaction from Canadian officials prompted Helene Farnaud-Defromont, France's ambassador to Canada, to clarify that France has not issued any license and would never do so without consulting Canada first.
"We do things properly; we’re not going to change the rules or turn everything upside down," Farnaud-Defromont told The Canadian Press. "We want to respect the agreements we have, including in this area, with all our major partners and obviously with Canada."
St. Pierre and Miquelon, an archipelagic French territory of eight islands in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, is home to nearly 6,000 residents and mainly relies on fishing as an economic driver. The territory has been involved in multiple fishing quota disputes with Canada over the past several decades, including a recent dispute over halibut just a few years ago.
Initial media reports noted the area for which Macron reportedly made the snow crab pledge is beyond Canada's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but within the country’s extended continental shelf.
Both countries are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, signatories to the convention have sovereign rights over management of natural resources in their EEZs, as well as jurisdiction over resources in an “extended continental shelf” outside the EEZ in some instances.
Farnaud-Defromont confirmed France intends to honor fishing agreements currently in place with Canada.
