Canada’s fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, has confirmed that France has not issued a new snow crab fishing license off Newfoundland despite French President Emmanuel Macron's recent pledge to do so during his visit to St-Pierre-Miquelon. This announcement came after reports from Canadian and French media suggested Macron had promised an exploratory snow crab license for the area. The dispute centers on overlapping claims of maritime territory between Canada and France, with both countries having made submissions to the United Nations’ Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf regarding their rights over seabed resources in the Atlantic Ocean near Newfoundland and St-Pierre-Miquelon.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Joanne Thompson, Canada's fisheries minister, stated on Friday evening that France has not issued a new snow crab license off Newfoundland despite a surprising pledge made last month by French President Emmanuel Macron. This came after media reports suggested that Macron had promised to grant an exploratory snow crab license in the area of Canada’s continental shelf near St-Pierre-Miquelon, a small French archipelago southeast of Newfoundland. The promise was particularly notable given that it followed a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to St-Pierre-Miquelon, marking the first such official visit from a Canadian prime minister.
The dispute reflects long-standing tensions between Canada and France over territorial claims in the Atlantic Ocean. Thompson emphasized that Canada maintains its claim over the extension of its continental shelf, which includes all snow crab fishing rights in this area, asserting that foreign fishing is not permitted there without formal negotiations through established diplomatic channels.
Written for “Canada Fisheries Dispute” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Canada’s fisheries minister says France has not issued a new snow crab licence off Newfoundland, despite a surprising promise last month by French President Emmanuel Macron.
asserted
France → say → Macron
Joanne Thompson said Friday evening that the Canadian government has been in contact with French officials to confirm they had not issued a new license, after news outlets including franceinfo and Radio-Canada reported Macron had pledged to grant an exploratory snow crab licence along Canada’s continental shelf to a fishing company in St-Pierre-Miquelon, a small French archipelago off the southeast coast of Newfoundland.
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Macron → say → Newfoundland
Macron’s promise appeared to catch Canadian officials off guard, especially as it was reported a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Macron in the French islands, marking the first official visit to St-Pierre-Miquelon by a Canadian prime minister.
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Carney → appear → minister
“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.
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Thompson → affirm → statement
“Canada does not agree with any foreign snow crab fishing in this area.”
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Canada → agree → area
Any licensing matters would be discussed by the countries through formal, well-established processes, and no such talks have taken place, she added.
The countries have been jockeying for territory in the Atlantic for decades and it appears Macron was hoping to revive some of those discussions.
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Macron → discuss → discussions
According to footage published by franceinfo, he told fishers during his visit in St-Pierre-Miquelon he hoped to initiate “calm but constructive debates” with Canada about the continental shelf.
uncertain
he → accord → shelf
Both Canada and France are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says coastal states have sovereign rights over the natural resources of the seabed extending from a country’s coastline and into the ocean basin.
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states → accord → basin
If this seabed area, called the continental margin, extends beyond 200 nautical miles from a country’s coasts, that country can make a submission to the United Nations’ Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to claim rights over that extended area.
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country → call → area
Canada made such a submission for the area around its Atlantic coast, including Newfoundland, in 2013.
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Canada → make → 2013
France made a submission for the area around St-Pierre-Miquelon in 2014, saying the area had overlap with Canada’s claim, particularly in a region off Nova Scotia.
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area → make → Scotia
Under the commission’s rules, the two countries would need to come to an agreement, France said.
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France → need → agreement
In the meantime, a separate ruling from 1992 gave the French islands a 24-nautical-mile zone and added a narrow 10.5-mile strip, known as the French Baguette, which extends south and stops short of Canada’s 200-nautical-mile limit.
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which → give → limit
Canada responded to France’s 2014 submission to the United Nations, saying it rejected any French claims to maritime areas outside of the 1992 decision.
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it → respond → decision
The area in which Macron reportedly promised a snow crab licence to a French company is beyond Canada’s 200 nautical-mile-limit, but within its extended continental shelf, said Kevin Anderson, head of the School of Fisheries at the Marine Institute of Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L.
And though France and Canada’s continental shelf submissions to the United Nations are unresolved, Canada still has a strong claim to Macron’s proposed French fishing area, he said.
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he → promise → area
“Canada has been fishing these crab in this area for a long time,” Anderson said in an interview, adding that past court cases have established Canada’s jurisdiction over the snow crab in the region.
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cases → fish → region
“We have the legal structure, we have history, and I think, generally speaking, the precedent,” he added.
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he → have → precedent
“That’s the Canadian confidence, I think, that this is ours.”
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this → ’ → ?
It is also helpful that snow crab live on the sea bed, which is precisely what the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf deals with, he said.
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he → live → Shelf
In her statement Friday, Thompson said Newfoundland and Labrador and Saint-Pierre-Miquelon have been close partners and she hopes that will continue.
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that → say → statement
However, she said, “Canada will always defend the interests of the harvesters, families, and communities in Newfoundland and Labrador who count on the snow crab fishery.”
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who → say → fishery
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
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