St. Pierre & Miquelon

 The islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, along with various minor islets, are located about 30 nautical miles south of the main portion of Newfoundland, Canada, and about six miles from the nearest Canadian islet.  Its first European settlers were French and Portuguese fishermen in the early 15th century.  It quickly became part of New France, the French colony that comprised Lower Canada and the Mississippi River Valley, extending from Cape Breton to New Orleans.  The economy of St. Pierre & Miquelon was founded on the prolific cod fishery and fishing was the mainstay of islands’ economy until recently, when the cod fishery collapsed all along the east coast of Canada and New England.  A border dispute between Canada and France was recently settled.  Canada now recognizes a 12-nautical mile territorial sea around the French islands (except for an equidistant line in appropriate places) and a 12-nautical mile contiguous and fishery zone.  The settlement also provides for a 10.5 nautical mile wide corridor south from the islands to the outer boundary of the Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), maintaining the islands’ free access to the high seas.  When the United States and Canada jointly proposed the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) to limit potentially harmful air emissions from ships operating within 200 nautical miles for most of those two nations, they were required to obtain the concurrence of France, because of the location of St. Pierre & Miquelon within the bounded area.  The islands are a collective territory of France, with elected representatives in both the National Assembly and Senate in Paris.  Most of the 6,125 residents are of Basque, Breton, or Norman descent.  The local accent prevailing on the islands is similar to ancient Norman.  The ocean currents around the islands are treacherous, with over 600 shipwrecks recorded to have occurred in the vicinity.