OSBORNE, Valerie - 1981

Change in the Nova Scotia Fisheries, by Districts, 1962-1976

With the creation of the 200 mile zone in 1977, new opportunities became available to Canadian fishermen. Nevertheless, there was a problem of lack of information concerning vital areas of the fishing industry. This thesis concerns itself with one aspect of that problem, relative and absolute change in Nova Scotian fisheries districts between 1962-76.

Using the techniques of factor analysis, twenty-one variables including fish landings, fishermen, gear, vessels, communities and processing plants were analysed in the forty-four Nova Scotian fisheries districts.

In the analysis of relative change the five largest factors, explaining 54.87% of the variance, were: "Offshore Fisheries," "Mollusc and Crustacean Fisheries," "Full-time and Groundfisheries," "Pelagic and Estuarial Fisheries" and "Inshore Growth."

With absolute change, four factors explained 64.51% of variance. These were: "Offshore Big Ports," "Reduction in Small Craft and Gill Netting," "Pelagic and Estuarial Fish Plants."

Change was most notable in the offshore along the Atlantic coast and in the Northumberland Strait. The importance of mollusc and crustacean landings was also noted, apparently in connection with the George's Bank scallop fisheries. The need for more detailed analysis is indicated.