May 15, 2008, by Natalie
We have set up camp along a dirt road at the western end of Notre Dame Bay, too deep up Halls Bay to see the icebergs but they are not far, I hear. Our dirt road runs parallel to the shore on one side and is lined with thick woods on the other. The road is by no means deserted. We appear to be camped along the stretch where residents of nearby Springdale fetch and store their fire wood. In the hour we have been here, at least 4 pickups have driven by, drivers waving their greeting to the CFAs ("Come From Aways"). This is a gorgeous spot with islands dotting the water out our window and a tiny little fishing harbor down the way. We’ll have to check that out later and maybe chat with a few lobstermen. Or maybe they are crabbers. They could also be shrimpers, and though there are some communities that do have limited cod quotas these days, chances are good they are not cod fishermen… Which brings me to the topic of my sabbatical project.
My interest here in Newfoundland is to learn how coastal communities, outports as they are called, are faring since the cod fishery collapse and moratorium of 1992. Specifically, I’d like to learn what role tourism has come to play in these communities, as they search for options to help them survive. The cod fishery off of Newfoundland, the very fishery that fed the world and Atlantic trade for centuries, came to an abrupt halt in the early 1990’s. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of outports have simply been abandoned completely for lack of economic options since the cod collapse, thereby effectively erasing a way of life based on the sea. Emigration out of the province is practically epidemic. They say that Newfoundland’s biggest outport is now in Alberta.
And yet, Newfoundlanders have a deep connection to place, even more deeply felt than any multi-generation Mainer that I have met. When Newfoundlanders are gone, they pine away for home, and those that do stay work hard to find ways to stay put. (A whole tradition of “Come Home Year” festivals has emerged to draw the emigrants home to specific outports for a week-long party to reconnect with those who have stayed). Newfoundlanders are also fiercely and rightly proud of their abundant natural resources and the rich culture and heritage that the Province’s environs have generated. And so, heritage- and nature-based tourism are emerging as a beacon of hope for the future. Just how that hope is panning out is what I hope to explore this summer. I’ll keep you posted.
For those wanting to dive in, here are some cool resources: