Fishing vessels from Greenland and the Faroe Islands would deter to enter Canadian waters as they are Danish protectorates and the Canada is ready to ban them for foreign policy purposes. Last week it was reported that the Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea had banned Danish fishing boats from the area and warned that if they continued to violate quotas for prawn (shrimp) catches they would be banned from landing in Canada.
According to the Minister the move would both protect the interests of Canadian fishermen and protect shrimp stocks. She said that the government has acted in good faith for several years to try to resolve this issue, to no avail. She also explained that Canada has understood that attempts to come to a multilateral agreement regarding the 3L shrimp quota for Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland) are at an impasse.
At the same time Minister Shea has also invited Denmark to come back to the negotiating table, saying the Canada was willing to try to find a solution. Meanwhile, Denmark replied saying that its fishing activities in that region fully comply with international law, adding that its efforts amount to little more than one per cent of the total catch allocation in that area.
