Tuna Town
Where the Lighthouse Route leaves Yarmouth on Route 3, the waters off the coast here teem with schools of sleek, powerful tuna. The town of Wedgeport, population 1,698, 10.5 km (6.5 mi.) off Route 3 on Route 334, was once known as the Sport Tuna Fishing Capital of the World. It was the site of the World Tuna Cup Match from 1937 to 1976, and attracted such luminaries as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart and Ernest Hemingway.
Today, Wedgeport is home to the Sport Tuna Fishing Museum and Interpretive Centre. The museum is also the starting point for a 5.4 km (3.4 mi.) interpretive nature trail that leads through coastal woodlands and along the Tusket River Estuary, and for an eco-boat tour that takes visitors around some of the 365 Tusket Islands.
Many of the coastal areas in this region were settled by Acadians returning after the expulsion of 1755. In 1767 the first of these Acadians settled in Wedgeport, East and West Pubnico and other nearby areas. With most of the productive farmland already occupied, the returning Acadians turned to the sea for their livelihood.
Today you will often hear Acadian French spoken as you visit the area’s small coastal villages. Just outside Wedgeport, the Butte-de-la-Croix is an historic site commemorating the first mass held here in 1769 for the returning Acadians. Marked by a simple wooden cross, the site remains a symbol of Acadian courage and perseverance. The site also features a saltmarsh boardwalk and a magnificent view of the Tusket Islands. The Festival Acadien de Wedgeport is held at the end of June.
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