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2938 words
- Little Bay Islands effectively ended as a permanent community on December 31, 2019. At 5 p.m., the MV Hazel McIsaac departed for the final time as the settlement's regular ferry service, marking the end of roughly two centuries of continuous settlement.
- The island's permanent population fell from 54 to just two people. Mike Parsons and his wife, Georgina, chose to remain after the final departures, living without the government services that had supported the community.
- The final evacuation was emotionally painful even for residents who accepted that relocation was inevitable. Mike Parsons described a "palpable sadness" surrounding the town's final days. Former resident and fisherman Wilfred Bartlett emphasized that people remained deeply attached to the land where they were born.
- Electricity was shut off on December 31, 2019. The power supply that had served homes, two churches, H.L. Strong Academy, Aunt Edna's B&B, and other buildings was discontinued as part of the resettlement.
- Little Bay Islands became the eighth remote community in Newfoundland and Labrador to permanently relocate during the 21st century. Its closure was part of a wider pattern of declining and abandoned coastal settlements.
- Little Bay Islands occupied two islands rather than one. The settlement extended across Little Bay and Mack Islands, explaining its plural name, and was accessible only by boat.
- The community once supported more than 500 residents. At its height, it was a busy fishing settlement with processing plants, shops, churches, a school, a bar, and an active harbor.
- The settlement's location was exceptionally well suited to fishing. Its sheltered harbor provided two entrances suitable for different sizes of boats, while offering access to Notre Dame Bay and the fishing grounds of the Grand Banks.
- The harbor remained protected even during severe weather. Bartlett regarded this natural shelter as one of the community's greatest advantages, alongside its proximity to productive fishing grounds.
- Little Bay Islands had few economic opportunities outside the ocean. Its climate and limited agricultural land made large-scale farming impractical, while its small land area meant residents sometimes traveled elsewhere to obtain timber for shipbuilding and other needs.
- Indigenous peoples recognized Newfoundland's marine resources thousands of years before European settlement. Paleo-Eskimo peoples arrived around 1000 BCE, followed approximately 2,000 years later by the Little Passage peoples.
- Norse sailors reached Newfoundland centuries before Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic. They relied partly on the region's abundant, easily caught, protein-rich fish for sustenance.
- European commercial fishing in Newfoundland may have preceded the famous Atlantic voyages of the 1490s. British and Basque fishing ventures guarded knowledge of productive fishing grounds, making the exact beginnings of European exploitation difficult to establish.
- John Cabot's exploration helped publicize Newfoundland's extraordinary cod abundance. He reportedly described waters so densely populated with fish that simply lowering a basket could produce a catch, although the account reflects the exaggerated language common among explorers.
- Atlantic cod was especially attractive to commercial fishermen because it was relatively easy to catch. The fish's bottom-feeding behavior and willingness to take bait made it accessible using comparatively simple fishing equipment.
- Salt preservation transformed cod into a valuable international commodity. Bartlett explained that properly salted cod could remain usable for one, two, or even three years, allowing fishermen to preserve their catches for long-distance shipping.
- Newfoundland cod was exported to England, Portugal, and Spain. Demand was particularly strong in Catholic markets, where religious restrictions on eating meat during Lent encouraged consumption of fish.
- Cod became deeply established in European food culture. It was a market staple by the 1500s and later appeared in works by Miguel de Cervantes, Émile Zola, and Alexandre Dumas, reflecting its enduring importance in European diets.
- The commercial cod trade drove the expansion of Newfoundland's coastal settlements. From the 1700s onward, fishing communities known as outports developed along the coastline, generally organized around access to the sea rather than inland agriculture or industry.
- The earliest recorded census of Little Bay Islands dates to 1825. Bartlett believed British fishermen might have established permanent habitation decades earlier, although the transcript provides no definitive settlement date.
- Little Bay Islands remained economically centered on cod fishing for generations. From the 19th century through the middle of the 20th century, fishing continued to provide employment, family income, and the foundation of community life.
- By 1950, Newfoundland had joined Canada, but the settlement's basic economy remained largely unchanged. More modern boats, additional houses, and processing facilities appeared, while residents continued working in the fishing industry.
- The community supported a complete local social structure during its prosperous years. Residents attended union meetings, shopped at grocery stores, worshipped at two churches, and gathered at the Poacher's Lounge.
- Fishing created work opportunities for entire families, including children and young adults. Students could earn money during summer holidays by working in fish plants, accompanying their fathers on boats, or cutting cod tongues at the wharf.
- Fishing knowledge and employment were traditionally passed between generations. Parents taught children the practical skills needed to work at sea, creating continuity between family life and the local economy.
- Residents also maintained small household gardens despite the difficult agricultural environment. Families planted root vegetables during spring while preparing for the more economically important summer fishing season.
- Industrial fishing began transforming Newfoundland's waters in 1951. A 280-foot British factory trawler named Fairtry appeared offshore, representing a new generation of large-scale fishing vessels.
- Foreign industrial fleets intensified competition for Newfoundland's fish stocks. Trawlers from European countries, the Soviet Union, and Japan joined the increasingly mechanized fishing industry.
- Bottom trawling dramatically increased the amount of marine life that fishing vessels could extract. Bartlett described boats dragging enormous nets across the seabed, catching cod alongside other species, with unwanted fish often discarded dead.
- Factory trawlers changed the economics of fishing by processing catches at sea. Within roughly a decade, vessels capable of hauling tons of fish and freezing them onboard had displaced much of the importance of traditional hook-and-line fishing, nets, and cod traps.
- Industrial fishing favored larger, more centralized operations over small fishing communities. The introduction of mechanized vessels meant that substantially greater catches could be handled without relying on the same extensive network of coastal workers and facilities.
- Canadian authorities were simultaneously pursuing the consolidation of remote communities. The Centralization Program of 1954 and Fisheries Household Resettlement Program of 1965 encouraged or moved thousands of people from isolated outports toward larger population centers.
- Government resettlement policies were partly intended to reduce public-service costs. Providing electricity, healthcare, ferries, and other essential services to scattered coastal settlements was expensive compared with serving concentrated populations.
- Little Bay Islands survived the resettlement pressures of the 1950s and 1960s. While comparable communities declined or relocated, its docks, processing plants, shops, churches, and school remained active because local fishing still provided sufficient employment.
- Industrial fishing initially appeared capable of coexisting with traditional fishing. For a period, the available fish stocks supported both large factory vessels and smaller local operations, delaying the economic consequences for communities like Little Bay Islands.
- By the 1970s, annual fish catches had reached roughly three times their level three decades earlier. Fishing pressure was increasing faster than cod populations could replenish themselves, creating the conditions for ecological collapse.
- Canadian authorities eventually restricted foreign fishing vessels and introduced catch quotas. These measures attempted to protect declining stocks, but the documentary presents them as too late to prevent a major collapse.
- Cod had become extremely difficult to find in some fishing areas by 1990. Bartlett recalled traveling approximately 500 miles north toward Labrador and encountering conditions so depleted that fishermen could not obtain cod even for personal consumption.
- In July 1992, Canada imposed a moratorium banning nearly all cod fishing. The restrictions were intended to give depleted stocks several years to recover, but the documentary reported that the moratorium remained in place nearly three decades later.
- The collapse destroyed the economic foundation of Little Bay Islands. Fishing had never necessarily made residents wealthy, but it sustained local employment, family continuity, and a way of life that depended on access to the sea.
- Little Bay Islands had no substantial alternative industry capable of replacing cod. Its historical success had created a dependence on a single resource, leaving the community especially vulnerable when that resource disappeared.
- Newfoundland's fishing industry shifted toward crab, shrimp, and capelin after the cod collapse. These species helped sustain commercial fishing in the province, but they did not recreate the employment structure that cod had supported in Little Bay Islands.
- The broader Newfoundland fishery remained a billion-dollar industry despite the cod moratorium. Jenn Thornhill Verma emphasized that the collapse of cod did not mean the complete disappearance of commercial fishing, but rather a major transformation in its composition and distribution of employment.
- Newfoundland and Labrador lost approximately 10% of its population during the decade following the cod collapse. The documentary links this large-scale migration to declining employment opportunities and the search for work elsewhere.
- Residents of Little Bay Islands increasingly moved to the mainland for employment. As working families departed, the businesses and community institutions that depended on their presence gradually became unsustainable.
- The decline of local employment produced a second wave of community losses. Fewer residents meant fewer customers for grocery stores, fewer children for the school, and declining participation in churches and other institutions.
- The local crab-processing plant closed in 2009. As the settlement's last major employer, its closure eliminated an important remaining source of employment.
- The 2009 plant closure particularly affected women employed in processing. With their jobs gone, many faced the choice of relocating for work or depending on unemployment assistance.
- The decline of fishing eliminated opportunities that once encouraged young people to remain. Bartlett recalled that previous generations could expect seasonal work almost immediately after leaving school, whereas younger residents increasingly had few realistic local employment options.
- Some fishing families actively encouraged their children to pursue careers elsewhere. Thornhill Verma explained that her grandparents deliberately ensured their four sons received classroom educations that would allow them to leave the outports and enter other professions.
- Thornhill Verma's grandfather was the last professional fisherman in her family. She explained that the end of the family's fishing tradition was a deliberate educational and economic decision rather than an accident.
- Migration gradually left Little Bay Islands with an aging permanent population. Younger residents departed for work, while older inhabitants remained attached to the community despite limited employment and increasing difficulty accessing essential services.
- Geographic isolation became more burdensome as the population aged. Medical facilities and grocery stores were approximately 45 minutes away under favorable weather conditions, making ordinary services increasingly difficult to reach.
- By 2015, Little Bay Islands had lost most of the institutions associated with a functioning town. Processing plants had closed, the school was empty, the local bar no longer operated, the fire department had closed, and the community no longer had a doctor.
- Resettlement remained politically and emotionally controversial in Newfoundland and Labrador. Earlier government programs, particularly those associated with Premier Joey Smallwood's era, were remembered by some residents as disruptive policies that uprooted families without improving their circumstances.
- Bartlett strongly opposed the legacy of earlier resettlement programs. He argued that people who had spent their lives in remote communities were uprooted and, in his assessment, gained little or nothing from being moved.
- Relocation was not new to Newfoundland's fishing communities. Fishing families had historically moved between settlements to follow employment and changing fishing conditions, making mobility a longstanding feature of outport life.
- Historical relocation was not always voluntary. The documentary distinguishes families who chose to move for opportunity from Indigenous peoples and remote communities that were pressured or forced to relocate.
- Newfoundland and Labrador revived its resettlement program in 2010 under different conditions. The revised policy offered larger financial compensation and prohibited the provincial government from initiating the process itself.
- The revised resettlement policy required overwhelming community support. Where the relevant voting process was viable, at least 90% approval was necessary before a settlement could proceed.
- The 90% requirement gave a relatively small minority the ability to block relocation. This safeguard reflected the seriousness of permanently withdrawing government services from communities whose residents might not agree about leaving.
- Little Bay Islands held its first relocation vote in 2015. Of its 95 permanent residents, 85 voted in favor and 10 voted against.
- The 2015 relocation proposal failed by approximately 0.53 percentage points. Although 89.47% supported resettlement, the result fell narrowly short of the required 90%, so the community remained in place.
- Little Bay Islands held another relocation vote four years later, in 2019. This time, the vote was unanimous in favor of resettlement, clearing the way for the community's permanent withdrawal from regular public services.
- The change between the two votes reflected the community's continued decline. The documentary describes no meaningful economic recovery during the intervening four years, while the circumstances that had encouraged relocation remained unresolved.
- Eligible relocating residents were offered C$250,000 in compensation. The financial payment formed part of the arrangement intended to help them establish their lives elsewhere.
- Residents were permitted to retain ownership of their properties after relocation. The resettlement program did not require them to surrender their houses or land, allowing continued private connections to the islands.
- Retaining property did not mean retaining public services. Following resettlement, the government would no longer provide regular ferry transportation, electricity, or snow clearing.
- Some residents prepared their houses for off-grid use before leaving. These modifications would allow them to return during summer without depending on the former public electricity supply.
- The resettlement therefore ended permanent community infrastructure without necessarily ending private occupation or seasonal visits. Former residents could continue using their properties, provided they arranged their own transportation and essential services.
- Mike and Georgina Parsons chose to remain throughout the transition. After the final ferry departure, they returned to their off-grid home to welcome the new year as the islands' only two permanent inhabitants.
- The islands' new isolation resembled conditions experienced by their earliest settlers. Without regular ferry service or electricity, remaining residents would once again depend heavily on individual resourcefulness and self-sufficiency.
- Resettlement represented a loss of cultural heritage as well as a change of residence. Thornhill Verma explained that family houses, fishing boats, familiar beaches, and ancestral communities preserved physical connections to generations of family history.
- Thornhill Verma described the sale of her grandfather's home in Little Bay East as a significant personal loss. The property connected her to centuries of family history and childhood experiences visiting her father's former home, exploring the shoreline, and traveling by dory with relatives.
- The emotional significance of the outports extended beyond their economic usefulness. Residents valued the communities for their relationships, shared traditions, family histories, religious institutions, and closeness to the surrounding landscape.
- Little Bay Islands demonstrated how an industry can support an entire social system without producing great wealth. Cod fishing sustained businesses, family relationships, educational opportunities, local institutions, and a distinct cultural identity.
- The decline of cod affected individual towns even though commercial fishing continued elsewhere. Alternative fisheries and larger operations could support provincial revenue without necessarily supplying enough employment to preserve every historic fishing settlement.
- Seasonal tourism offered a possible use for declining coastal communities but not an equivalent replacement for permanent settlement. Visitors increasingly included kayakers, photographers, authors, and artists attracted by the region's landscapes and traditional buildings.
- Thornhill Verma questioned whether tourism alone could preserve outport culture. Although she welcomed visitors, she emphasized her preference for people to establish lasting homes rather than simply visit temporarily.
- The documentary presents a healthy commercial fishery as essential to the long-term survival of many remaining outports. Tourism might attract visitors, but the traditional settlement model requires a dependable source of local employment.
- Protecting fishing communities requires policies beyond their local control. The documentary argues that effective conservation and long-term fisheries management depend on decisions made nationally and internationally.
- Industrial fishing showed how global economic decisions could undermine communities that had existed for centuries. Technological advances increased catches and efficiency while contributing to depletion of the resource on which local settlements depended.
- Government resettlement policy addressed the financial costs of supporting declining communities rather than restoring their original economic foundation. Compensation made relocation possible, but it did not replace the employment and cultural continuity lost through the fishing industry's transformation.
- Little Bay Islands' eventual unanimous relocation was a choice made under severe economic and practical constraints. Residents formally controlled the decision to leave, but the collapse of local employment and disappearance of essential services had greatly reduced the feasibility of remaining.
- The documentary distinguishes the right to choose resettlement from the forces that make resettlement necessary. Communities may determine when they vote to relocate, while external markets, resource depletion, industrial technology, and government policies heavily influence whether continued settlement is realistic.
- Little Bay Islands' fate does not establish that all remote communities are inherently unsustainable. Its decline demonstrates that geographically isolated settlements still depend on viable economic relationships and institutions extending far beyond their boundaries.
- The survival of Newfoundland's remaining outports depends on maintaining their connections to wider economic and political systems. The documentary's central conclusion is that local independence alone cannot protect a settlement when its essential industry, public services, and employment opportunities depend on decisions made elsewhere.