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    In 1870 a French captain noted the presence on Red Island of a doctor, a surgeon, and 120 men. The following year, 132 men were counted. Toward the end of the century, at a time when the declining cod-fishery was being replaced by the lobster fishery, the number of active fishermen continued to fall. There were five St. Pierre lobster 'factories' on the French Shore in 1898, with a total complement of 133 men. In 1901 there were only 87 fishermen on the length of the coast, and, despite a bonus of 50 francs paid to every man who agreed to fish cod, 77 engaged in the lobster fishery.

    In passing, it is important to dispel a widely held notion in Canada that all French Newfoundlanders are Acadians. On the other hand, there is indeed an Acadian enclave in Newfoundland, quite close to the French enclave with which, by the force of circumstances, it has intermingled from the very beginning.