Social, Economic and Cultural Overview of Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador

Social, Economic and Cultural Overview of Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador ii Oceans, Habitat and Species at Risk Publication Series, Newfoundland and Labrador Region No. 0008 March 2009 Revised April 2010 Social, Economic and Cultural Overview of Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador Prepared by 1 Intervale Associates Inc. Prepared for Oceans Division, Oceans, Habitat and Species at Risk Branch Fisheries and Oceans Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Region2 Published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Region P.O. Box 5667 St. John’s, NL A1C 5X1 1 P.O. Box 172, Doyles, NL, A0N 1J0 2 1 Regent Square, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 7K6 i ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2011 Cat. No. Fs22-6/8-2011E-PDF ISSN1919-2193 ISBN 978-1-100-18435-7 DFO/2011-1740 Correct citation for this publication: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2011. Social, Economic and Cultural Overview of Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador. OHSAR Pub. Ser. Rep. NL Region, No.0008: xx + 173p. ii iii Acknowledgements Many people assisted with the development of this report by providing information, unpublished data, working documents, and publications covering the range of subjects addressed in this report. We thank the staff members of federal and provincial government departments, municipalities, Regional Economic Development Corporations, Rural Secretariat, nongovernmental organizations, band offices, professional associations, steering committees, businesses, and volunteer groups who helped in this way. We thank Conrad Mullins, Coordinator for Oceans and Coastal Management at Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Corner Brook, who coordinated this project, developed the format, reviewed all sections, and ensured content relevancy for meeting GOSLIM objectives. Staff at Fisheries and Oceans Canada assembled the tables and figures that appear in the section on commercial fisheries and sealing. We thank David Alexander, Blair Thorne, Don Ball, Sigrid Kuehnemund, Joe Michaud, Roger Haynes, Sheldon Peddle, Sam Organ, James Cheeseman, and Patrick Shea for their review and helpful comments on portions of the report. Melissa Martin and Virginia Ford, interns with Intervale Associates, assisted with document research. iv Executive Summary This report provides an overview of the major social, economic, and cultural activities in the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Large Ocean Management Area (LOMA). The aim is to address parameters that are relevant for integrated coastal and oceans management. This work was commissioned by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Oceans and Habitat Management Branch, towards the development of a social, economic, and cultural overview and assessment report for the Gulf of St. Lawrence Integrated Management (GOSLIM) initiative. Section 1.0 describes the purpose of the report, study area (referred to as the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region), methodology, and information sources. The geographic limits of the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region are defined as Cape Ray in southwestern Newfoundland to Cape Bauld on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula, and southern Labrador from L’Anse au Clair on the Quebec border north and east to Cape St. Charles, Labrador. The western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region has been sub-divided into four coastal areas that roughly coincide with the geographic limits of four locally defined coastal planning areas (Bay St. George/Port au Port, Bay of Islands, Great Northern Peninsula, and Southern Labrador) and with census subdivision boundaries. Available social, economic, and cultural overview information is grouped according to these four coastal areas wherever possible. Section 2.0 addresses the social features and activities of the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region. The demographic profile reveals a declining population and an elevated unemployment rate. The 2006 census by Statistics Canada lists the total population for the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region as 63,717. Of the 57 census subdivisions in the region, 45 have populations of less than 1,000. Only two communities—Corner Brook and Stephenville—contain populations in excess of 5,000. Between 1996 and 2006, the population of the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region declined 12%, as compared to a decline of approximately 8% for the Province. Population declines were less severe between 2001 and 2006, when the population of the region declined approximately 3%, as compared to a decline of less than 2% for Newfoundland and Labrador. During that same time period, four census subdivisions and six communities experienced positive growth rates, the greatest of which were Massey Drive (52%), a residential area just outside of Corner Brook, and Division 9, Subdivision A (231%), which includes Wiltondale, Lomond, and Green Point in the vicinity of Gros Morne National Park. The total Aboriginal population, particularly the portion represented by Métis peoples, increased substantially between 2001 and 2006. v Section 3.0 presents the economic features and activities. The unemployment rate in 2006 of 24% for the entire region was more than three times the Canadian average. Unemployment rates exceeded 30% for each of the Great Northern Peninsula and Southern Labrador coastal areas. By contrast, the unemployment rate for the Bay of Islands remained lower than the provincial average during all census years, 1996-2006. In 2001, which was the most recent year for which data were available, a higher proportion of people in the region were employed in primary industries such as fisheries and forestry than were those in the Province as a whole. Economic activity in the region has been influenced in general by federal and provincial investment. Ten different industrial activities are described, including commercial fishing and sealing, oil and gas, mining, forestry, and tourism. Recreational activities are treated separately. Commercial fisheries remain the most important economic base for many of the small communities of the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region. The number of active fishers for the entire region remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2007. Although the number of groundfish licence holders declined following an adjustment in 2001 due to the cod moratorium, their numbers have remained relatively stable since then. Landed weight and value for six categories of fisheries, including seals, are summarized for the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region and for the four coastal areas during the period 2000-2007. For the region as a whole, pelagics represented the greatest amount of landed weight among all categories of fisheries and were especially strong between 2003 and 2007. Crustaceans represented the greatest amount of landed value to the region and were especially strong in both landed weight and value along the Great Northern Peninsula. For the coastal areas, the Great Northern Peninsula had the highest proportion of total overall landed weight for all categories of fisheries combined, including the highest weights for crustaceans, groundfish, molluscs, and miscellaneous. Landed weight for pelagics was highest in the Bay of Islands, followed by Bay St. George/Port au Port. The Great Northern Peninsula also had the highest proportion of total overall landed value for all categories of fisheries combined, including the highest values for crustaceans, groundfish, molluscs, miscellaneous, and seals. Landed value for pelagics was highest in the Bay of Islands, followed by Bay St. George/Port au Port. In the sealing industry, soaring prices for seal pelts in 2006 resulted in a very good year, which was followed by severe declines in the price of pelts in 2007 and 2008. In other industries, newsprint shipments declined due to continued weakness in North American newsprint markets and further operational reductions at the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill. Mining of minerals in the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region continued to increase as did the exploration of oil and gas off western Newfoundland. The Deer Lake Airport vi experienced a record-setting 18% increase in passenger use in 2007, surpassing all other airports in the Province. Although the tourism industry in the region experienced minor declines in visitation between 2006 and 2008, the annual roofed accommodation occupancy rate increased slightly. The cruise ship industry reported increases in the number of port calls in the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region between 2006 and 2008, although there were declines in the overall number of passengers and estimated value to the region in 2008. Corner Brook experienced an exceptionally good year in 2007, with more than 30,000 passengers and crew visiting, bringing an estimated value of nearly $1.5 million to the community. Tourism in the region depends heavily on markets from Ontario and the United States, both of which are predicted to be negatively affected in 2009 by the global economic recession. Section 4.0 presents the cultural features and activities of the western Newfoundland and southern Labrador region, paying particular attention to an accelerating interest in Aboriginal life and in preserving both the tangible environment and the rich diversity of human history. The region offers strong scenic qualities, varied parks and ecological areas, and well-known cultural heritage sites. There is growing participation among government

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