Stewardship Association of Municipalities

Cartwright

SAM Member Since: April 2010

Coastal Stewardship

Cartwright (population ~550) has been a settled community since 1775 when Captain George Cartwright, an English merchant, settled and established a fish and fur trading business. Today Cartwright's main employer is the Labrador Shrimp Company which processes mainly snow crab meat. Approximately 30 km east of Cartwright is Table Bay, home to the largest colony of breeding Common Eider ducks in Labrador. Also just east of Cartwright is the Gannet Islands Seabird Ecological Reserve, and although there are no Northern gannets on the seven islands within this 22 km2 reserve, there is an abundance and diversity of other species, including common murres, puffins and the largest razorbill colony in North America.

Coastal Stewardship Zone

The Stewardship Zone boundaries were chosen to encompass most of the islands and coastal habitat in Table Bay. The area within the Stewardship Zone is that which has been deemed important to waterfowl by residents of Cartwright and areas in which Eider enhancement has taken place. Many islands within Table Bay have been studied by Ducks Unlimited Canada with the Eider Initiative program in an effort to determine Eider success rate, mortality, etc. The northern tip of the Stewardship Zone takes in Grady Islands, Grady Harbour, Black Island and Offer Wolf Islands because they are all known to be used for molting Eiders and Harlequin Ducks. Devils Lookout Island is known as a Peregrine Falcon nesting site.