French Shore

Historic French fishing territory on the coast of Newfoundland. From the 16th century onwards, France and England vied for control of the rich Grand Banks fisheries and the harbours of Newfoundland. Treaties concluded in the 18th century limited French fishing rights to certain designated stretches of the Newfoundland coast; these were finally relinquished in 1904. Nowadays, the French presence in the region is limited to the islands of St-Pierre et Miquelon, which have the status of an overseas territory.

Following the Treaty of Utrecht at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (1713), France gave up all claims to Newfoundland except the right to catch and dry fish in an area extending from Cape Bonavista (in the northeast), around the Great Northern Peninsula, to Point Riche, near Port au Choix (in the northwest). After the Treaty of Paris of 1783, signed after the American Revolution, the area was shifted west, with the eastern boundary relocated to Cape St John on the Baie Verte Peninsula (in the north), and the western boundary at Cape Ray (in the southwest), on Cabot Strait, near modern Channel-Port aux Basques. From 1880 to 1904, disputes arose as Newfoundland developed its own fisheries and commerce in the area. Tension between the Canadian government and St-Pierre et Miquelon resurfaced in 1977, when Canada extended its territorial waters to 400 km/250 mi and imposed strict fishing quotas.