Gros-Mécatina

Gros-Mécatina is an isolated municipality in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent in the North Shore of Quebec. It's only accessible by boat, plane or snowmobile via the Route Blanche in winter.

Understand
Gros-Mécatina is a municipality of 356 inhabitants (2021) on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the border with Labrador. It is near excellent crab, lobster and scallop fishing grounds. Thus, fishing is the main economic activity there.

The municipality is made up of two small villages: La Tabatière and Baie-des-Moutons (also called Mutton Bay). It also includes the abandoned villages of Lac-Salé and Baie-des-Ha!-Ha!. The village of La Tabatière is located on the bay of the same name opposite the island of Gros Mécatina and is divided into three hamlets: Vieux-Poste, Baie-Rouge and La Tabatière. This village includes a fish processing plant. For its part, the village of Baie-des-Moutons is located on the eponymous bay just east of the mouth of the Gros-Mécatina River.

The municipality is crossed by the Gros-Mécatina River from north to south to the east of the two villages. This ends in a large archipelago called Gros Mécatina which extends from Baie-des-Moutons to Harrington Harbor. Cap du Gros Mécatina is located at the southern tip of Mitchell Island, southwest of Baie-des-Moutons. In addition, the Petit Mécatina River flows east and empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence west of Tête-à-la-Baleine.

History
Exploration of the region began as early as 1535 when Jacques Cartier made his second voyage. The area became an important hunting and fishing spot in the early 18th century. Around 1739, the Gros-Mécatina Post was established near the current village of La Tabatière and soon became one of the most important fishing villages on the Côte-Nord of Saint- Lawrence.

The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 1994. Its territory is a detachment of the municipality of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent.

By boat

 * Bella Desgagnés (Maritime service Anticosti Island-Basse-Côte-Nord) - Departing from Rimouski, the vessel Bella Desgagnés offers weekly maritime service to the ports of Port-Menier (L'Île-d'Anticosti), Sept-Iles, Havre-Saint-Pierre and Natashquan, reaching as far as Blanc-Sablon. Operated by the Government of Quebec, this ship makes the connection between the localities of the MRC Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent: Saint-Augustin, La Tabatière, Tête-à-la-Baleine, Harrington Harbour, La Romaine, Kegaska and Blanc-Sablon. This cargo-passenger ship has eight decks and can accommodate 420 passengers, including around 40 crew members. It has 63 cabins with private bathrooms to accommodate passengers, a cafeteria, a dining room, a bistro and seascape observation lounges..

By snowmobile
Gros-Mécatina is also accessible in winter by snowmobile via the route Blanche from Natashquan. This 525-km snow road passes through the villages of Kegaska, La Romaine, Chevery, Harrington Harbour, Tête-à-la-Baleine, Mutton Bay, La Tabatière, Saint-Augustin, Rivière-Saint-Paul (Bonne-Espérance) and Blanc-Sablon. Trail layout and conditions may vary from winter to winter. Users of this trail should act proactively by having enough fuel, geolocation instruments, a satellite telephone system, spare parts in case of breakage, mechanical repair tools, a gun, a map and survival gear. Group travel is recommended.

Get around
A coastal road (designated "rue Principale") of 8.6 km connects the centre of the villages Mutton Bay (to the south) and La Tabatière (to the northeast), along the coast, facing the island of Gros Mécatina. In winter, this is not cleared of snow; users tend to use snowmobiles there. The hills of Mécatina have a hilly relief which makes it difficult to develop forest roads in this area. A good way to travel between villages in summer is by boat or plane; in winter, by snowmobile.

Gros-Mécatina is an isolated municipality, being not connected to the Quebec road network. Thus, Route 138 coming from the city of Quebec, stops at Kegaska, where the end point (east side) of rRoute 138 turns out to be 170 km in a direct line from the village of Mutton Bay.

Talk
In 2011, 3 per cent of Gros-Mécatina's population was French-speaking while the other 97 per cent was English-speaking.

Do
Summer activities: boat excursions, sea kayaking, wilderness camping, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) excursions, hiking, observation of sea birds, marine mammals (e.g. whales), icebergs from the east (via the Strait of Belle Isle), picking wild berries (e.g. blueberries, cloudberries), salmon fishing, hunting and fishing.

Winter activities: snowmobiling, ice fishing (on the ice), snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, local winter carnival, and hockey tournaments.

Connect
The villages of the municipality are served by various services including cellular networks and community radio.