The small fishing village of Le Goulet, New Brunswick has launched an appeal for help from the federal government to prevent further coastal erosion which threatens the town.
Originally founded as “New Jerusalem Settlement”, and later known as “Shippigan Gully”, the community has been in existence for over 150 years.
It is separated from the Gulf of St. Lawrence by sand dunes and salt marshes, both of which act as important natural buffers from storm events. However, these have been heavily affected, first by sand mining in the 1980’s, now illegal, and in recent years, by extreme weather events.
Le Goulet resident Roland Ploude quoted by the CBC, remembers when the coast was 120 metres from where it is now.
“If nothing’s done to stop the erosion the village will need to build another wharf for fishing,” said Ploude, speaking in French
Throughout the maritime provinces especially Prince Edward Island, and even in the Arctic, climate change has been causing storms and heavy rains that have increased coastal erosion.
Storms have become more frequent, and more violent, and in winter there is less ice forming to act as a buffer against strong wave action.
PEI landmarks threatened by erosion
Le Goulet with a population of about 871 has seen four major floods in the past 15 years from coastal storm surges. This has led to contamination of water supplies due to salt water intrusion and septic tank overflows. About 30 homes have been affected by floods while contamination and mould are ongoing problems.
The mayor of the village says about 20 metres of coastline have been lost just since July alone
He is appealing for a large rock seawall of 3.8 km to protect the sand dune along the shore so the road and power lines leading to the wharf will not be damaged. At certain times of the year, they are now covered with water.
The town hopes work can get underway later this month or next.
Other towns along the Acadian peninsula are also greatly concerned by erosion, including nearby Shippigan and Bas-Caraquet.
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