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Machias Seal Island Lighthouse

Grand Manan ,

Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy about 12 miles from Cutler. The island sits in Maine waters but the lighthouse is maintained by the Canadian government. It is a compromise reflecting the fact that both nations claim the island.

Both nations avoided having the International Court of Justice rule on the sovereignty of Machias Seal Island and North Rock by agreeing to have a common starting point for the offshore boundary southwest of the island. The ICJ has since highlighted a gap in the maritime boundary for several dozen kilometers between the current end of the Canada–US border and the 1984 Gulf of Maine boundary starting point. Machias Seal Island and North Rock lie in the middle of this "grey zone"—a term coined by fishermen from both countries, referring to unclear jurisdictional boundaries in the area.

Machias Seal Island is a barren island devoid of trees. It was frequently fog-bound and many ships had difficulty navigating their way to St. Andrew and St. John. The Canadian government built the Machias Seal Island Lighthouse to help with navigation and in 1832, two octagonal wooden towers and a keeper’s dwelling were built on the island.