The impact of modernization on a traditional regional system : the case of inner Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, 1911-1966

• Main Author: Brown, Howard Cecil
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1985
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/5533/; https://research.library.mun.ca/5533/1/Brown_HowardCecil.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/5533/3/Brown_HowardCecil.pdf

Since the early twentieth century and particularly during World War II and in the post Confederation era Newfoundland has experienced the impact of the modernization process. Increased urbanization, a more diversified economy, and a vast improvement in transportation and communication are among some of the major developments arising out of this process. However its impact has not affected all regions of the province in the same way. Growth has tended to occur primarily in traditional urban areas, in new towns created to exploit mineral and forest resources land/or in centers where changes in the transportation and communication network have presented additional employment opportunities. -- Some rural areas of Newfoundland have also benefitted by the modernization of the fishery. Communities which have been able to attract modern year round fresh fish filleting and freezing facilities and the large modern trawlers and draggers to supply the facility have grown. So too have some communities with a seasonally operated facility supplied by the inshore fishery. However for the majority of the fishing settlements, which were established during the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, when dried salted codfish was the main product, modernization in the fishing industry has had a negative impact. Larger boats, equipped with marine engines and catching a variety of species have meant that it is no longer necessary for fishermen to reside in small isolated communities. Moreover as the traditional dried salted cod industry declined, and emphasis was focused on the fresh frozen fish industry, access to the modern plant capable of processing many species became more crucial, and both the transportation and communication linkages took on an increased importance. Just as the modern fish processing facilities had evolved in communities with a locational advantage, so too have health care, educational and social facilities. As a result many small traditional marine resource based communities increasingly found themselves ...