Мачиас-Сил аралы: Даулы аумақ және құстар панасы

Disputed island in the Gulf of Maine

Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, about southeast from Cutler, Maine, and southwest of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Sovereignty of the island is disputed by the United States and Canada. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff a lighthouse on the island; the first lighthouse was constructed there in 1832.

The relationship of Machias Seal Island to the Grand Manan archipelago is a source of some dispute among geologists. The island is considered to be a possible continuation of the series of exposed shoals, rocks, and islets strewn south and west of Grand Manan Island. The deeper Grand Manan Channel lies to the north and west of the island, separating it from the coast of Washington County, Maine. Machias Seal Island is a barren island and devoid of trees. Because of its location at the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, Machias Seal Island is fog bound for many days of the year. It is also a sanctuary for seabirds such as Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres, common tern and Arctic terns, Leach's storm petrels, and common eiders. It is a neighbour to North Rock.

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, receiving supplies by sea from Grand Manan or Saint John. 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. No private citizen in Canada has made an ownership claim to Machias Seal Island, and Canada considers the property to be wholly owned by the federal government. 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.

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. These forces were withdrawn after several months, and no U. S. presence has been re established since.

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. 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 , as reflected in the final ruling in the case. The gap in the agreed maritime boundary extends for several dozen kilometres (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".

The "grey zone" is a 72 km (45 mi) gap between Canada and the United States that was designated in 1977. Without clear ownership of the area, both countries assert fishing efforts that have strained the lobster population and its respective economies. Rules and rights over the "grey zone" are governed by political and social factors, such as increased lobster fishing efforts and different management styles, These political and social factors accentuate resource competition and eventually lead to conflict. 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. 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. Machias Seal Island and neighboring North Rock, an exposed rock outcropping about north northeast at , 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. 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. 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." 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. 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.