Owens protests boating policy

WASHINGTON — Forcing boaters to report to Canadian customs every time they venture into Canadian waters could cripple tourism on the St. Lawrence River, Rep. William L. Owens told the Canadian government Monday.

Mr. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, wrote to the Canadian ambassador to the United States, Garry Doer, in response to the story of Roy M. Anderson, a Thousand Island Park resident whose boat was seized by Canada Border Services Agency officers who found him fishing, unanchored, in a familiar spot in Gananoque Narrows on May 30.

"Forcing every fisherman and private boater to report to a Canadian customs officer every time they enter Canadian waters is unacceptable and impractical," Mr. Owens wrote. "It will cripple the tourism and fishing industries in the Thousand Islands region."

Mr. Owens, a lawyer, also took issue with the Canada Border Services Agency's latest interpretation of Canadian customs law, saying it clearly exempts boaters who are traveling through Canadian waters between points in the United States.

He called the incident troubling and asked for a reply from Mr. Doer within 10 business days.

For years, American boaters have fished or traveled in Canadian waters with the understanding that as long as they did not anchor, they did not have to report to Canada customs. But the enforcement action against Mr. Anderson — he had to pay a $1,000 fine on the spot to keep his boat — has thrown that impression into doubt.

He had a valid Canadian fishing license and has fished in Gananoque Narrows many times, Mr. Anderson said last week.

The Canadian government has been mum on the issue. The Canada Border Services Agency has not returned messages to the Watertown Daily Times relayed through the Canadian Embassy in Washington. And a frequent boater on the St. Lawrence who works at the World Bank in Washington said Monday that CBSA agents twice hung up the phone on him Monday when he called with questions about the policy and said he had read about Mr. Anderson's case in the Times.

Mr. Owens is not the only U.S. official taking notice. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to the Canada Border Services Agency, asking for clarification about the policy as well as a greater effort to spell out the policy to first-time offenders who had no illegal intent.

New York's deputy secretary of state for public safety, Elizabeth Glazer, wrote to the Canadian public safety minister, Vic Toews, requesting that the Canadian government return the $1,000 Mr. Anderson was required to pay and requesting further explanation of his detention.

"This treatment of a New York state resident by the Canadian Border Services Agency is troubling and a significant cause of concern to New York State residents," she wrote.

The man who said Border Services Agency agents hung up on him, Timothy J. Austin, said in a telephone interview Monday night that he has fished for many years on the St. Lawrence, including in Canadian waters, and has never run into this issue. Two summers ago, he said, he was stopped by Canadian environmental officers who thoroughly checked his boat but has been under the impression he may fish in Canadian waters with his Canadian fishing license and not have to report to customs as long as he does not set anchor.

After reading Mr. Anderson's story, he said, "I didn't realize the law was written that way."

He said he called Border Services on Monday and was hung up on by two agents before calling a third time and talking to a woman who gave him a phone number that U.S. boaters can call before taking a fishing trip into Canadian waters.

Mr. Austin said she told him that one call is sufficient for the entire St. Lawrence River and that boaters can simply call before leaving, any time of the day or night. The number is 1 (888) 226-7277.