‘Not at War,’ Fisherman Says After Face-Off at Sea

Coast Guard officials boarded an American fishing boat and questioned the captain today after the vessel collided with a Canadian destroyer and drew warning shots from the warship in a dispute over fishing rights.

The confrontation Monday began after the scalloper Concordia allegedly was spotted fishing 2.5 miles inside Canadian waters, Coast Guard Petty Officer Ellen Harrington said.

The fishing boat’s captain, William Fuery, said this morning that his charts indicated he was never in Canadian waters. He said that the destroyer rammed his vessel and that when the warship began its pursuit, he fled in fear.

“A plane told me to stop my vessel and wait for a warship,” he told a Boston radio station. “I didn’t think it was too good of an idea to wait for a warship. I was out there fishing. I was not at war.”

He said he headed back toward American waters while dodging the Canadian vessel’s warning shots.

“A couple times I had to change course and get away from him because I was afraid he was going to ram me again,” Fuery said. “When he started shooting at us, he was trying to get as close as he could. At times he was firing shots from a quarter-mile away.”

Canadian officials told a different version. They said the fishing boat rammed the 366-foot destroyer three times, prompting the warning shots.

The Canadians fired five to 10 rounds with a small, submachine-like gun about 100 yards ahead of the vessel, and when that failed to produce any results, they fired a round from a 3-inch, .50-caliber gun in front of the Concordia, said Lt. Doug Maybee, a spokesman for the Canadian Navy.