L'Île-aux-Marins

L'Île-aux-Marins (, literally "The Island of the Sailors"; before 1931 called Île-aux-Chiens, literally "Island of the Dogs") is a small uninhabited island located off the coast of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

History
L'Île-aux-Marins was settled in 1604 and once had a population approaching 700.

It was a commune until 1945, when it was annexed by the commune of Saint-Pierre.

Since the 1960s, the town has become a ghost town after the last of the population left for Saint Pierre Island; however, a small number of people live there on a seasonal basis between May and November. Several of the town's buildings are still standing, among them are the church (Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Marins), the Jézéquel house, a number of fisherman's homes, and the Archipélitude Museum located in the town's former school. Several of the buildings were designated with protected status by the French Ministry of Culture in 2011, with the addition of the Jézéquel house in 2014.

The bow section of the wrecked ship Transpacific, which grounded near the islands in 1971, is located on the northern side of the island and is still accessible.

Geography
The island is 1500 m long with its width varying from 100 to(-). The highest point, Cape Beaudry, is only 35 m above mean sea level and is also located on the northern end of the island.

Two smaller islands, Île aux Vainqueurs and Île aux Pigeons, are located to the northeast of the island.

La Maison Grise
La Maison Grise (The Grey House) was originally a fishing shed (saline in French) of a certain Mr. Victor Patrice. In 1923, he bought Roger Girardin's estate which included the house, the garden, the shed and slipway. Inshore fishermen stored their fishing tools, hooks, lines, and boxes; engine parts, and for hunting their shotguns and bird decoys. The shed was also a meeting point where fishermen discussed the fish catch and the selling price of cod, but also about merchants' unfair (as they saw it) terms of trade when bartering food for their fish.

The Grey House displays a dory, which fishermen used until the 1910s, along with waries. In 1911, some more prosperous fishermen started to be equip their dories with engines until in 1913, a government grant allowed all fishermen to do so, which led to a tripling of the fish catch overall. Every year by the end of November, fishermen repaired all the dories and riggings the activity in the fishing shed stopped.