Witless Bay 4.31

Witless Bay is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on the Irish Loop, 35 km south of the provincial capital, St. John's, Witless Bay is a small, scenic, traditional Newfoundland outport community. The town had a population of 1179 in the Canada 2011 Census. It is connected to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.In September 2013, Action Canada fellow Sébastien Després was elected as Mayor.Witless Bay is the setting for Howard Norman's novel, The Bird Artist.Geography & EconomyWitless Bay is a fishing community, first established because of its closeness to the rich fishing grounds on the Grand Banks. Tourism is an important part of the community as well, since the community is home to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, which contains North America´s largest Atlantic Puffin colony and the world's second-largest colony of Leach's Storm-petrels. The presence of these bird colonies has given birth to the Witless Bay Puffin and Petrel Patrol, a volunteer organization aiming to save stranded chick and return them safely to the ocean. Bed-and-breakfast establishments, coffee shops, a whale and puffin tour operator, several craftspeople, and the Witless Bay and Area Puffin and Petrel Patrol attract visitors from all over the world.