[LINK] "Iceberg shortage spells trouble for Newfoundland town"

[rfmcdonald]

Back in June I blogged about how Newfoundland's Fogo Island was trying to buck the trend of rural Newfoundland's population collapse by taking up niche tourism. The nearby community of Twillingate has actually managed something like that, with iceberg tourism being big. The icebergs haven't been coming this year.

The island town of Twillingate, Nfld., is home to less than 3,000 people, but its population swells to 30,000 each summer as tourists arrive to see majestic icebergs jutting out of the frigid North Atlantic, having drifted all the way from Greenland.

They are such a boon to the town that it calls itself The Iceberg Capital of the World. But this year, Twillingate has a problem: No icebergs. The tourists are mad.

There is more than just tourism at stake — the icebergs are also harvested for vodka, gin and rum, as well as bottled water sold in the Middle East.

“The iceberg has his own track, and maybe its own mind as well,” said Captain Cecil Stockley, a tour operator who calls himself Iceberg Man. “[Tourists] say to me, ‘I planned my whole vacation around it.’ It certainly is frustrating.”

An iceberg shortage is plaguing Newfoundland’s “iceberg alley,” a stretch of ocean off Newfoundland’s north coast. Back in 1912, more than 1,000 icebergs reportedly floated in the North Atlantic shipping lane, which includes the alley. In recent years, however, the locals in Twillingate consider it a good year if 12 or 15 icebergs float past.

It all depends on the ocean currents, wind patterns and how many icebergs set sail from Greenland in the first place, Capt. Stockley said.

“When they come in June and early July and they don’t see icebergs, they’re pretty disappointed,” said Fred Bridger, president of the Twillingate Islands Tourism Association. “But then they see what else we have to offer.”

In the absence of icebergs, tourists are pointed toward Twillingate’s rugged coastline, hiking trails and dinner theatre. Tourists are also enthralled with sightings of humpback and minke whales.