In 1997, there were about 15 farms left in the Evangeline Region specializing in various products including milk and potatoes.

Fishing

Fishing was of marginal economic importance in the dec- ades after the Acadians first settled in this region. Although herring, mackerel and trout were caught for home con- sumption, commercial fishing developed gradually. English- speaking merchants set up the first fishing establishments in the 1830s. By 1877, there were 30 boats and 60 men em- ployed in the fishery along the shores of Egmont Bay and Mont-Carmel. The industry was already showing a profit since in that same year 1,200 barrels of mackerel and 360 barrels of herring were exported to Boston for a total value of $13,200.

With the introduction of lobster fishing, the industry ex- panded rapidly. The first three lobster canneries were built in the region in 1879. By 1884, there were 10 canneries most of which belonged to Acadians. Lobster fishing has dominated the fisheries in the Evangeline Region ever since, and today it constitutes the mainstay of the local economy. In the early 1990s, there were 45 lobster fishermen and an equal number of fisherman’s helpers in the region, while the Acadian Fish- ermen’s Co-operative currently provides seasonal employment for 150 to 200 people.

Economic life 27

John J. Gallant’s lobster cannery, 1895. This lobster cannery in Mont- Carmel was built by John J. Gallant (“Jack Paneau”) in 1885 for R.T. Holman, a prominent merchant from Summerside. Gallant ran the cannery for 18 years before he bought it in 1903. It was later bought by Napoléon Arsenault who in turn sold it in 1931 to the first fishermen’s co-operative in the region, Mount Carmel Fisheries Ltd. This lobster factory closed down in 1954. The can- nery building is shown on the left. A number of the employees boarded in the large house known as the cook house. (Musée acadien Collection)