Yarmouth is a town and major fishing and ferry port located on the Gulf of Maine in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada.
Initially called Port Forchu, Yarmouth was first laid out in 1759 and incorporated in 1890. Through the 19th century it was a major shipbuilding centre, at one point making more ships per capita than any other port in the world. When steamships started to take over, the town declined.
Tourism has been a major industry in Yarmouth since the late 19th century when the Dominion Atlantic Railway and Halifax and South Western Railway began to offer connections for its passengers with steamship services operating to New York City and Boston. This continued until the Second World War when the services were terminated. Canadian National Railways instituted a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine in the 1950s and this was continued by CN Marine and Marine Atlantic until 1997.
In 1998 operation of the Bar Harbor route was transferred to Bay Ferries Limited which currently operates a high-speed catamaran ferry - HSC Incat 059, also known informally as "The Cat".
In the 1970s an American tourist cruise company Prince of Fundy Cruises began operating a conventional cruise-ferry between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth. This operation continued as Scotia Prince Cruises until April 2005, when it was ceased due to port conditions in Portland. The future of ferry service from Yarmouth to Portland is uncertain. However, Bay Ferries has expressed interest in taking over this route.
