Epilogue l07

were fears it would happen in 1879. However there are more species being fished and more markets to buy them than there were back then. Even thirty years ago, there were very few alternatives to lobster. I believe the collapse of the lobster fishery would be merely a temporary upset, though probably a highly disruptive and painful one, and that the fishing industry would then diversify, as, in fact, it has begun to do. If for any reason such as pollution, the whole of the fishing industry had to be shut down, that would indeed be disastrous. In spite of a flourishing construction ind ustry, Tignish needs more diversification — more industry that does not depend upon fishing. Farming can be carried out successfully in the area, but the soil is not first-class; modern farming too is little more than a gamble - perhaps even more so than fishing.

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What can small communities and all those interested in them learn from the Ti gnish experience? The characteristics that have made for survival as a viable comniunity seem to be few and simple, though not necessarily easy to attain or recover.

First comes remoteness. A smaller community needs to be at least eighty kilometres (50 miles) from any larger centre, perhaps more, in order to survive and flourish. Or it needs to be in an area where, for one reason or ancther, big business and bureaucracy do not want to go. Many once remote towns and villages have been eventually absorbed into a city. Just as, in a family, possessing some desirable physical attributes can be a questim of inheriting the right genes, so the future of a settlement depends to some extent on where it is. However any town or village far enough away from a major centre to