Shediac

Shediac sits on the Northumberland Strait where the water is shallow and warms in summer, and it built its identity on lobster: a festival since 1949, boat tours where the catch is hauled and cooked on board, and since 1990 a sculpture of a lobster about eleven metres long and ninety tonnes at the town entrance, which is the most photographed object in New Brunswick by a wide margin. Parlee Beach nearby has some of the warmest salt water north of Virginia because the strait is shallow and the tide floods over sun-warmed flats. Acadian culture is strong here and French is the working language.

History

The Mi'kmaq encampment of Es-ed-ei-ik, running far in, after the turn of the coast here, was one of the major camps in south-east New Brunswick, and the name Shediac comes from it; the place was first called La Batture. Acadians first arrived in 1751, leaving peninsular Nova Scotia, and returned to the region in 1767 (Wikipedia, Shediac).

The main sights

• The giant lobster - an eleven-metre, ninety-tonne concrete sculpture.
• The lobster boat tours - hauling traps and cooking the catch on board.
• Parlee Beach - some of the warmest salt water in Canada.
• The July festival - a lobster festival running since 1949.

When to go

June to September; the lobster festival is in July and the beach season runs through August. Lobster fishing seasons are set by zone and the local one is spring. Winter is quiet.

Good to know

Lobster is available year-round but the local season is short and much is frozen or trucked. Parlee Beach has had bacterial closures in some summers. The strait is warm but shallow and weedy in places.

Nearby

Bouctouche lies north; Moncton is west.

Key facts