Shrimp Wars: Faroes, Greenland Shut Out of Canadian Ports

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/14/faroe-greenland-shrimp-shea.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r3:c0.0751325:b30662634


Canada to close ports to Faroes, Greenland vessels
Last Updated: Sunday, February 14, 201
CBC News

Canada is going to close its ports to vessels from the Faroe Islands and Greenland on Monday because of shrimp overfishing, federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said Sunday.

The Faroes and Greenland have refused to abide by quotas set by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which sets catch limits for each member.

"We have acted in good faith for several years to try to resolve this issue, to no avail," Shea said in a news release.

Canada originally closed its ports to vessels from the Faroes and Greenland in December 2004, but reopened them in March 2008 as a sign of good faith.

Now, however, the minister has followed up on a warning issued Jan. 26, when she said the ports would be closed unless the Faroes and Greenland withdrew an objection to the NAFO shrimp quota in NAFO area 3L, in the north Atlantic east of St. John's beyond Canada's 200-mile limit.

Denmark, which acts on behalf of the Faroes and Greenland in international matters, unilaterally set a 3L shrimp quota of 3,101 tonnes, almost 10 times greater than their NAFO quota of 334 tonnes.

"Their continued overfishing is unacceptable," Shea said on Jan. 26.

The minister said Sunday she would be willing to meet her counterparts from the Faroes and Greenland to resolve the issue "at their earliest convenience."

Both the Faroe Islands and Greenland are self-governing overseas administrative divisions of Denmark.

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