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Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1984. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.J.)--Carleton University, 1994. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

The Permafrost Map of Canada shows the region of Labrador in northeast Canada as spanning conditions from continuous permafrost in the north to isolated patches in the south. However, few studies have documented this and the most detailed field information comes from research in the 1960s and 1970s, with contemporary permafrost distribution largely unexamined. An extensive investigation of contemporary permafrost conditions throughout Labrador and portions of northeastern Québec was undertaken between 2013 and 2017 to fill this knowledge gap. A multi-scale approach to analyzing permafrost distribution was employed, including collection of detailed field information at selected sites, establishment of climate and ground monitoring apparatus at more than 35 different locations and spatial numerical permafrost modelling of permafrost conditions across the region. Spatio-temporal infilling was used with thin plate spline interpolation to generate temporally-consistent climate grids for 1948-2016 at a monthly resolution for all of Labrador-Ungava. Evaluation of derived air temperature grids against meteorological observations and remote field monitoring stations showed an overall accuracy of 0.8 ± 0.3 °C on a monthly timescale. The grids were used to generate freezing and thawing degree-days maps to facilitate permafrost modelling. Field investigations in the coastal barrens of southeastern Labrador (51.5°N to 54°N) used geophysics (DC electrical resistivity tomography), standard field methods and ground temperature monitoring to characterize very isolated patches of permafrost observed to be up to 8 m thick beneath palsas and peat plateaus. Permafrost was inferred to be absent in wetland, forested and forest-tundra areas inland, notwithstanding average air temperatures lower than at the coast. However, field investigations undertaken farther north in the coastal community of Nain, NL (56.3°N) showed permafrost to be present at numerous sites within the community in tundra, forested and disturbed settings. Boreholes and geophysics showed permafrost less than 20 m thick at several locations including beneath existing and proposed building locations. These investigations of permafrost along a latitudinal gradient highlight the contrasting permafrost environments found in coastal regions of Labrador. Field data from monitoring stations across Labrador (n=83) were used to analyze the interrelationships of key variables in permafrost modelling. Snow depth, not mean annual air temperature, was the strongest single determinant of mean temperatures at the ground surface and at ~1 m depth. Ground temperature variability was most related to land cover class with a critical late-winter snow depth of 70 cm or less inferred to be sufficient to prevent the formation of permafrost at the monitoring sites. Testing of several different land cover datasets for permafrost model parameterization gave errors in ground surface temperature ranging from ±0.9 to ±2.1°C. A new estimate of the distribution of permafrost at high resolution (250 m x 250 m) was generated for all of Labrador-Ungava using a modified version of the temperature at the top of permafrost model. Predicted ground temperatures for long-term climate normal ranged regionally from -9°C (for high elevations in northern Québec) to +5°C (for southeastern Labrador-Québec). Modelling of permafrost for specific temporal windows (1948-1962; 1982-1996; 2000-2014) suggested that permafrost area increased from the middle of the 20th Century to a potential peak extent (36% of the total land area) in the 1990s. Subsequent warming is predicted to have caused a decrease in permafrost extent of one-quarter (95 000 km2) even if air temperatures rise no further, providing air and ground temperatures equilibrate. The field observations in this thesis validated research conducted in the interior of Labrador during 1970s which directly linked permafrost presence or absence to snow thickness. Permafrost was more widespread than would be expected in coastal areas based on the region’s mean annual air temperatures which suggests that specific geomorphologic and meteorological settings may allow permafrost to persist in otherwise unsuitable regions. Land cover type, through its influence on snow distribution, was shown to be a key variable whose changes must be considered when examining future permafrost conditions in the region.

This thesis examines the Government of Newfoundland's decision to emphasize the inshore fishery at the expense of the offshore in the future development of the industry. The inshore fishery is labour-intensive and is composed of approximately 30,000 licensed fishermen who operate on a seasonal basis from Newfoundland's coastal communities. More than 10,000 privately-owned vessels - with maximum range of 50 miles - are deployed in this sector and account for 65% of total landed tonnage. These vessels do not exceed 65 feet in length and over 90% are under 38 feet long. In comparison, the offshore fleet is capital-intensive and is executed from less than a dozen ports by 80 corporately-owned trawlers that range from 120 - 210 feet in length. The 1,100 men employed in this sector fish year-round as far as 200 miles out to sea and take the remaining 35% of total landed tonnage. Apart from one major exception, each sector takes stocks that are not exploited by the other. A major portion of the cod resource, however, follows extensive migration patterns and is harvested by both sectors. This seriously complicates the Newfoundland fishery because cod is the single most important stock and accounts for approximately 40% of the dockside value of the total Newfoundland catch. The cod resource is in fact composed of a number of separate stocks but about 60% of the total cod catch comes from one stock complex. This complex is known as the 'northern cod' and only this cod follows extensive migration patterns. Thus the inshore-offshore fishery conflict is confined solely to northern cod. The inshore and offshore sectors are not on an equal footing regarding northern cod because the inshore sector depends upon the seasonal shoreward migration of the cod that escape offshore exploitation. The viability of the inshore cod fishery is therefore contingent upon the restriction of offshore harvesting to levels that allow adequate volumes of cod to migrate inshore. This issue has been a central problem in the Newfoundland fishery for some time but it has become critical since the extension of fisheries jursidiction to 200 miles in 1977 . The extension of fisheries jurisdiction is expected to result in a 250% increase in total landings by Canadian fishermen from 1977 to 1985. In Newfoundland, landings are predicted to increase from 400,000 metric tonnes to 1,000,000 metric tonnes by 1985. Northern cod is anticipated to form the bulk of this with landings expected to rise from 80,000 metric tonnes to 365,000 metric tonnes during this- period. The Government of Newfoundland is currently implementing strategies to deal with these increases but, before doing so, it first had to determine where the emphasis for the allocation of the expected increases of northern cod was to be placed. It decided that, since inshore fishing contributes more to the stabilization of rural settlement patterns and lifestyles, priority ought to be placed with this sector. To analyze whether this was justified, the fisheries management literature was reviewed in order to identify appropriate criteria for evaluation. The literature illustrates that the three fundamental concerns are with utilizing the resource on a sustained basis, maximizing economic efficiency and satisfying the social aspirations of the people. On this basis, the criteria listed below were considered. Resource-Related Criteria: (1) Ability to harvest cod. It is important to know if each sector is capable of harvesting the major portion of the total allowable catch of northern cod. If one sector is not, placing priority with it would be an inefficient approach to managing the resource. (2) Ability to ensure sustained harvesting. Fisheries management is concerned with sustained harvesting. If one sector displays a capability for stock depletion much greater than the other, it may not be the most attractive for the long term management of the resource. Thus, a second criterion is the physical ability of each sector to harvest cod without over-exploiting the stock. Economic Criteria: (3) Maximization of economic rent. The management literature outlines that a fundamental management concern is to maximize economic rent. A third evaluation criterion, therefore, is which sector harvests fish most cost-effectively for a given volume of catch. (4) Maximization of economic efficiency. Maximizing rent for a fishery is only an accepted measure of economic efficiency during periods of full employment. Otherwise, immobility of labour, low opportunity costs and the combination of fishing with supplementary activities may mean that efficiency is fulfilled by over-employment in a fishery. Therefore, a fourth evaluation criterion is which sector contributes most to economic efficiency through the creation of employment and compatibility with supplementary economic activities. (5) Plant utilization. The processors have pointed to the fact that one of their most important concerns is increased plant utilization. A fifth evaluation criterion, consequently, is an examination of the impact that each fishery sector has on this. Social Criterion: (6) Satisfaction of social concerns. An integral aspect of fisheries management is satisfaction of social aspirations. In the Newfoundland fishery, these include provision of employment opportunities and preservation of existing settlement patterns. A final criterion is how the two sectors compare regarding this. Examination of the available data illustrates that both the inshore and the offshore sectors have the ability to harvest the major portion of the northern cod. Inshore fishing, however, employs a less rapacious technology than offshore fishing and harvests only the migratory part of the resource. Thus, it runs a lower risk of over-harvesting. At the same time, data provided by Schrank et al (1980) indicate that the inshore fishery generates greater economic rents than the offshore, i.e. it is the most cost-effective approach to harvesting. Furthermore, because it is labour- rather than capital-intensive, inshore fishing creates more jobs and, because it is seasonal, also allows for a greater range of supplementary activities. Thus, it contributes more to "economic efficiency". The two sectors also differ respecting plant utilization. Offshore fishing provides year-round operability for a handful of plants whereas inshore fishing supplies over 150 plants but on a seasonal basis only. Since both sectors display an ability to harvest the major portion of cod, neither has any advantages as far as increasing total plant utilization is concerned. Offshore fishing centralizes plant activity, however, and the inshore fishery may have benefits here by contributing more to efficiency criteria in creating a greater number of part-time jobs which can be fitted in with other occupations. Finally, the inshore sector is more supportive of existing settlement patterns than the offshore fishery because it provides employment in all outports and, since it allows for traditional supplementary activities more so than the offshore sector, is also more compatible with rural lifestyles. In summary, the inshore sector outperforms the offshore regarding the generation of rent and the maximization of economic efficiency. It is also less likely to over-harvest the resource and more fully satisfies the social aspirations of the Newfoundland people. There are no distinct differences between the two sectors in their ability to harvest cod or their contributions to total plant utilization. The inshore fishery therefore surpasses or is at least comparable to the offshore sector in every criterion. On the strength of this, it is the conclusion of this thesis that the Government of Newfoundland has made an appropriate decision in placing emphasis on the inshore fishery. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Early public timber allocation policies -were perceived by many in Newfoundland to be having a continuing influence on forest management policy. A thorough review of these policies and the resulting development of forest industry had never been undertaken. It was decided to carry out such a review by testing three hypotheses on past timber allocation policy. These hypotheses are stated as follows: the pattern of use of the coastal forest resource was established centuries ago by transient fishermen and early settlers and this has had a profound influence on public timber allocation policy; early government timber allocation policies for the forest resource of the interior of the Island and Labrador were a giveaway; and the early timber allocation policies led to undue concentration of ownership of the interior timber resource of the Island of Newfoundland. These hypotheses are evaluated by examining the historical record to determine the evolution of early timber allocation policies and the subsequent development of the forest resource. The influence of early settlement on timber allocation is established by a literature review which documents traditional attitudes and uses of the coastal forest resource. An extensive review of timber allocation legislation and a search of government records was undertaken to establish early timber allocation policies and the results that were achieved in terms of forest-based industrial development. Examination of the historic record' allowed a judgement to be made on the extent to which the forest resource of Newfoundland and Labrador has proven to be intramarginal, marginal or submarginal in an economic sense. This provided the basis for the evaluation of the second and third hypotheses. The study concludes that the attitudes of early settlers towards the use of the forest resource have had a profound influence over public timber allocation policy. The existence of the 'three-mile limit', a band of common-property forest around the coast of the Island, is identified as a direct result of this influence. The importance and special function of this part of the forest resource should be recognized in an explicit statement of forest policy by the government. It is also concluded that the early timber allocation policies for the forests of the interior of the Island and Labrador were not a major giveaway of economic rents at the time. Initially the government tried to capture more economic rent through higher charges but, in order to encourage development, it was forced to lower its fees and extend the term of timber licenses from 21 to 99 years. This was because much of the resource was found to be marginal or submarginal for the developments that were initially undertaken. While considerable concentration of ownership of the forest resource in the interior of the Island of Newfoundland did occur, this was the result of a rational reallocation of timber licenses from economically nonviable to economically viable developments. Scattered resources, which had proven to be submarginal for small-scale development, later proved to be intramarginal when combined into large limit areas for major pulp and paper mills. Finally it is suggested that the policy since 1949 of encouraging further large-scale forest development be questioned and more emphasis be placed on using available intramarginal and marginal resources to preserve and expand established forest industry. While historically the forest resources of Labrador and remote parts of the Island have proved to be submarginal, the prospects for these resources to support viable industries should be reviewed periodically to see if further development attempts should be encouraged. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

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