There is news of US border patrol craft stopping a Canadian fishing boat near a disputed island off the Maine coast.
This incident reminds me of Moosylvania, a fictional island that was a running gag in the old Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Moosylvania was on the border between the US and Canada and neither country wanted it.
The real-life Moosylvania, Machias Seal Island, is about 10 miles off the coast of Maine and about 12 miles from the Canadian Grand Manaan Island. Unlike the fictional island both countries claim Machias Seal Island along with its surrounding waters, which contain valuable lobster, fish, and possibly oil and natural gas. The 1842 treaty between the US and Britain that defined border between Maine and New Brunswick is ambiguous about ownership of the island, which has rocky, treeless area of about 20 acres.
US maps show the island as a part of Maine, while Canadian maps show it as a part of Canada. Its only permanent residents are large colonies of puffins and other sea birds, but the Canadians maintain their only remaining manned lighthouse to bolster their claim. Bird tours of the island leave from both the mainland of Maine and Grand Manaan Island.
Do the US and Canada need to resolve this border question before things escalate further?
Or is it best to leave the border in the current undefined state?