Economy
The local economy is driven by the year-round commercial fishing industry and the seasonal tourism industry, which is largely focused on whale watching tours.
The island has one general store (that includes gas pump and cafe), one hotel and several hostels, bed and breakfasts, and gift shops. The island contains the fishing village of Westport which is connected to Freeport on Long Island by a ferry operated by the provincial government.
Brier Island is frequently inundated by fog and has witnessed 57 recorded shipwrecks. The island has "a lighthouse per mile" with the Northern and Western lighthouses on the island, as well as the Peter Island lighthouse in Grand Passage; all are automated and are operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The wreck of the barque "Aurora" in 1908 provided the lumber for the Westport Community Hall.
The Canadian Coast Guard operates CCG Station Westport in the village. The rescue cutter CCGC Westport provides 24-hour per day, 7 days per week response to search and rescue incidents within the eastern Gulf of Maine and the southern and eastern Bay of Fundy.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical terms.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)