The Town of Old Perlican’s July 2026 Newsletter is now available, featuring important updates on infrastructure improvements, water conservation, emergency preparedness, fire safety and municipal services. Residents will also find information about Old Perlican Days, CrabFest, the new community dog park, upcoming events, development permits and other local initiatives. We
The Town is pleased to announce the latest addition to our Volunteer Fire Department’s equipment fleet—a new 2026 Ford F-250. This vehicle will help support our dedicated volunteer firefighters as they continue to provide important emergency services and protect our community.
We encourage ALL town residents to complete the Telmatik Services Sign Up Form. This service allows you to receive important alerts and notifications regarding special announcements, water outages and emergencies via telephone call or text message.
The town of Old Perlican, located at the intersection of Routes 70 and 80 is approximately 60 km from Carbonear and 50 km from Heart’s Content. A thriving service centre for the collection of smaller communities at the head of Trinity and Conception Bays.
Old Perlican has a population of 661 (2011 census). The major economy is the fishery. Crab and shrimp processing facilities are employers of nearly 500 workers during the fishing and production season. Other species processed here include lump, mackerel, capelin, and whelk. Fortunately for Old Perlican, the cod moratorium of the early 1990’s did not devastate the economy of the area.
Serving as the major summer fishing station in Trinity Bay for migratory fishermen from England in the 1500’s, Old Perlican is one of the oldest fishing communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. On the first known map of the area, it’s name was recorded as ‘Perlican’ as early as 1597, with the prefix ‘Old’ added sometime later to distinguish it from New Perlican (another Trinity Bay community). One of its first settlers was a planter named John Brown. The 1675 census for Newfoundland lists fourteen planters living in Old Perlican. In 1697, Old Perlican was destroyed by the French under D’Iberville.
