Parlee Beach in Shediac, N.B. has been a popular, and much touted tourist attraction for decades.

But just 17 km up the road in Cap-Pelé, there's another, lesser known sandy shoreline. Plage Aboiteau Beach is well-known to locals, but it hasn't attracted the same kind of tourist trade as its neighbour to the west – though that seems to be changing.

This year, Parlee Beach has been plagued by reports of water quality problems, and it's been closed to swimming on several occasions due to high bacteria counts and fecal contamination.

Ronald Gallagher has been a long time fan of Parlee Beach, but on Saturday, he avoided it in favour of Aboiteau.

Ronald Gallagher says fears about water quality at Parlee Beach drew him to Aboiteau Beach. (Gabrielle Fahmy/CBC)

"I have grandchildren with me today," he said. "I don't want to take any chances that they can catch something."

Passing the test

Gallagher isn't alone. Several people sunning themselves at Aboiteau on Saturday echoed his concerns, including Elliot MacDonald.

"We don't want to be walking waist deep in...'that,' if you will. So we just want to keep ourselves away from it."

Justin LeBlanc, who works for the village of Cap-Pelé, said the number of visitors to Aboiteau Beach has doubled since last year.

"We have a lot of things to offer at Aboiteau Beach and we have passed all our water tests," he said.

Justin LeBlanc works for the village of Cap-Pelé and says the number of visitors at Aboiteau beach has doubled since last year. (Gabrielle Fahmy/CBC)

"So maybe that was a factor."

While Gallagher and his family are wading in the waters at Aboiteau this weekend, he hopes the water quality problems at Parlee Beach are resolved soon so he can feel safe bringing his family there again.