Pugwash, Nova Scotia Pugwash, Nova Scotia Pugwash (2012 population: 736) is a village in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The village is home to fishing, salt mining, and small-scale manufacturing and is situated on the Northumberland Strait at the mouth of the Pugwash River. Pugwash takes its name from the native Mi'kmaq word, "Pagweak," meaning "Shallow Water", in reference to a reef near the mouth of the harbour, making navigation through the shallow waters difficult. Pugwash sits atop a salt deposit measuring 457.2 m thick and is home to the largest underground salt mine in Atlantic Canada, with shipments from its port, as
Pugwash, Nova Scotia only place on the Northumberland Strait to have two fishing seasons. The first one takes place in May and June and the second in mid-August and mid-October. Many boats fish out of the Pugwash harbour, carrying up to 300 lobster traps at a time. Mining Pugwash is home of the Canadian Salt Mine Co. Ltd, the only salt mine and only underground mine in Nova Scotia. This mine has been open since 1959. The majority of the mine runs under the Pugwash River, some under solid ground, but none under the village. The plant produces industrial grades salt, salt blocks