Residents of St-Pierre-Miquelon are pinning their hopes to a claim to the United Nations on seabed rights south of Newfoundland. (Marie Wadden/CBC)

Residents of the tiny French islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon say the archipelago's survival depends on the outcome of France's move to claim rights to seabed far south of Newfoundland.

France was to unveil details on Thursday of its bid on the seabed claim, which will be submitted to a United Nations commission on the continental shelf. Canada has already said the claim, which has been expected for weeks, is invalid.

Residents of the islands, home to just 6,000 people, have long wanted to access to shellfish on the ocean floor, and a share in any oil that may be beneath it.

Pierre Salomon, an organizer of a movement that urged President Nicolas Sarkozy to claim an interest in the ocean floor under thousands of square kilometres of international waters in the Atlantic, said obtaining access to those resources is the only way the islands can survive.

"Everyone wants to stay where he is born, so it's really important for us," said Salomon.

"So it's my island. I want to live on my island. I want to die on my island."

Xavier Bowring says St-Pierre residents 'are not asking for everything.' (CBC)

The bid, which if successful would give France claim to underwater resources far beyond Canada's 200-mile economic limit, is being made despite an International Court of Arbitration's ruling in 1992 that settled the maritime boundary between Canada and France.

Xavier Bowring, another organizer, said the bid is not about antagonizing Newfoundland and Labrador, nor about battling Canada for its resources.

"We are not asking for everything," he told CBC News. "We are asking for our right to share what's out there."

In southern Newfoundland, residents are watching the developments with a cautious eye.

"It all came out of left field for us," said Marystown Mayor Sam Synard, who says the region — which has been dependent on shipbuilding and fabrication work related to the offshore oil industry — will fight for its own interests.

"The future of the Burin Peninsula depends on the fishery, depends on the marine-related resources, and depends on offshore oil and gas exploration in the Laurentian basin," he said.

Felix Coady, speaking with CBC News in a Marystown coffee shop, said rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador have already lost plenty.

"It's going to be a big snarl as far as I'm concerned," said Coady. "You know, we can't afford to lose any more than we got. I mean that's only a small island. France? They're doing fine as it is, as far as I'm concerned."

In a letter sent last week to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada "does not recognize any claim by France" to the disputed seabed.