Canada said on Monday it seized a Portuguese fishing boat off its Atlantic coast, the first time since its "Turbot War" of 1995 it has seized a foreign vessel. The Santa Mafalda was carrying 30 crew and one observer. Its captain will face charges of fishing illegally inside Canada's 200-mile exclusion zone for foreign fishing ships, said Morley Knight, director of conservation and protection in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Reuters. He said the Santa Mafalda had been issued 14 citations for incidents in international waters in the past 10 years. The crew remain in the boat, which is docked in St John's, Newfoundland. "This is a message that we take these matters seriously. This is a matter involving fishing inside Canadian waters." Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan told reporters. The Portuguese embassy in Canada had no immediate comment. Canada has outstanding warrants for foreign vessels that go back 20 years. In 1995 Canada seized one Spanish ship and slashed the nets of another vessel in a hot-tempered dispute over what Ottawa said was excessive turbot fishing. --More 2345 Local Time 2045 GMT
