P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet

P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet — page 7
Capelin is considered the main bait fish of the Arctic Seas They move inshore to spawn or lay their eggs on the pebbly beaches They attract and provide food for many seabirds eagles seals and different species of whales during the summer In Newfoundland the age old tradition of scooping them up as they wash ashore is known as the capelin scull or capelin roll During capelin season people of all ages gather at the shorelines with dip nets and buckets As the waves crash upon the beach thousands of capelin are washed ashore You have to be quick to fill your bucket before the waves pull them back in Capelin are dried and salted and also enjoyed roasted over a campfire Yum Confederation also begins with C At midnight on March 31 1949 Newfoundland and Labrador became the 10th province to join Canada with Joseph R Smallwood leading the cam paign Prior to this date Newfoundland and Labrador was a British Colony