Rencontre East

Rencontre East is a small, outport community in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada located north east of Belleoram, and west of Terrenceville in Fortune Bay. The population was 139 in the 2016 census. This small community is not connected to any surrounding areas by road but is accessible by scheduled ferry service from ports in Pool's Cove and Bay L'Argent.[2]

Rencontre East
Town
Motto(s):  Isolated and Loving It
Rencontre East Location of Rencontre East in Newfoundland
Coordinates: 47°38′15″N 55°12′55″W
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Population  (2016)[1]
• Total	139
• Density	53.8/km^2 (139/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3:30 (Newfoundland Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2:30 (Newfoundland Daylight)
Area code(s)	709
Website	Community web site

All of the roads are dirt and ATVs are the main source of transportation. The community uses breakwaters to hold the roads in place and keep the water from washing them away.

The main industry is cod and lobster fishing. Rencontre East was the location of one of only a few molybdenum mines in Canada's history.[3] The mine was located at Ackley City at Rencontre Lake just north of the town. The mine was closed soon after, with only two-thousand tonnes of mineral being exported.[3]

The town has two grocery stores, a volunteer fire department, an all grade school and a community centre. There are two churches, one Anglican (St. Stephen's) and one Catholic (St. Joseph's).

St. Stephen's all-grade school has just 19 students, from kindergarten to grade 12. The school however has undergone some changes in recent years, a fitness room was constructed in 2008. The school also has a large playing surface outside which the students use often to play ball hockey, kick ball, and hold certain events.

Aquaculture is an important economic driver, with the advent of salmon farming. As of July 2011, aquaculture in Rencontre East became fully operational, with more than 20 of the town's people working on the three sites.[4] Combined, there are more than 2 million salmon in the sites. As the traditional cod and lobster fisheries are waning, mostly because it becoming uneconomical to do so and the age of the fishermen nearing that of retirement, modern fish farming will reverse the downturn of the town.[5]

Rencontre East was one of the areas in Fortune Bay affected by the September 2019 event in which 2.6 million farmed salmon died.[6][7][8] Following the die-off, images of salmon residue being dumped into the ocean near Rencontre East were widely circulated in local media.[9]

Panorama of Rencontre East.

See also

• List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador

References

1. "Census Profile, 2016 Census Rencontre East, Town [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador". Statistics Canada. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
2. "Touring Newfoundland's Connaigre Peninsula". Cape Breton Post. November 17, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
3. Martin, Wendy. "Once Upon a Mine: Stories of Pre-Confederation Mines on the Island of Newfoundland" (PDF). The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
4. Stoodley, Allen (October 6, 2017). "Down Memory Lane: Rencontre East". The Southern Gazette. Saltwire Network. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019.
5. "Aquaculture brings new life to small town". CBC News. August 5, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
6. Maher, David (October 11, 2019). "2.6 million farmed salmon dead on south coast of Newfoundland, company says". The ChronicleHerald. Saltwire Network. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
7. "Salmon disease was present but Northern Harvest denies it was a factor in die-off". CBC News. October 16, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
8. "N.L. government urged to reassess aquaculture expansion after salmon die-off". CTV News. October 17, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
9. "Dead salmon residue remains as Northern Harvest Sea Farms says cleanup complete". CBC News. October 28, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.