[sphinx]

Wrangel Island is part of Siberia. Go look at a map. I've never looked up the others, but my understanding is that the governing international law dates back to 19th century navigational agreements that (quite sensibly) split the Bering Straights between Alaska and Siberia. The navigational lines were drawn long before oil and mineral rights issues became salient. If there are a few specks of rock on the Russian side of the line, so be it.

[Beck_isright]

Yes, but those were "navigational" rights, not fishing rights. In this critical time where we have basically rented out all of our prime fishing territories on the East Coast, we could become a full blown importer of fish at the pace we are squeezing the industry out of business. And that is what is really sad. No one cares until their industry is exported out.

[cake_crumb]

You're right. As far as I know, it's part of a navigational treaty from around 1890. Having trouble finding linkable info. People should confirm the subject matter of articles before posting them.