Labrador Lightning

Labrador Lightning (Battle Ocean 1990 series)

EC2003 Atlantic Ocean

The collapse of fish populations around the world due to overfishing has created serious international friction. This is particularly true in the Atlantic. More and more often, European fishing boats have illegally entered Canadian waters. Canada has attempted to resolve the issue via diplomatic channels, but without success. Two months ago, the Canadian people elected a new government. The new Prime Minister warned that Canada would deal harshly with illegal fishing. Barely a month later, Canadian warships sank three Spanish fishing boats in the Labrador Sea; twenty Spanish sailors perished in the icy waters. Spain has declared it will not tolerate these barbarous acts. It has warned Canada that its fishing fleets will now be protected by naval vessels and that any Canadian warships approaching them will be fired on. Other European nations have also expressed their outrage at these events. Whether they will assist Spain in any Atlantic operations remains to be seen. The United States has tried to serve as a moderator and ease tensions between Canada and Spain, but has met with little success to date. (Released June 2006).