Stewardship Association of Municipalities

Mary's Harbour

SAM Member Since: November 2009

Coastal Stewardship Agreement

Mary's Harbour is located at the mouth of St. Lewis Inlet, approximately 168 km north of Blanc-Sablon, Quebec and 25 km north of St. Peter's Bay. In the 1780s Mary's Harbour was a site where fisher people harvested Atlantic salmon on the St. Mary's River. It was not until the 1930s, after a fire in the nearby village of Battle Harbour, that the town became a permanent settlement. Mary's Harbour now has a population of approximately 417.

St. Peter's Bay Coastal Stewardship Zone

St. Peter's Bay is located approximately 25 km south of Mary's Harbour and is 5 km wide with several small islands located in its middle. The waterfowl in St. Peter's Bay, particularly the common eider, use the rocky coasts, shoals, and islands at various times throughout the year. The vegetation on the islands is limited to sedges, grasses, stunted trees and crowberry barrens which they use for breeding, nesting, molting, staging and over wintering. The Canadian Wildlife Service considers the bay to be the only primary moulting area for eiders along the southern Labrador coast south of Table Bay, with estimates of up to 3000 molting eiders congregating there during the months of July and August.