Pinsent's Arm is located on the south side of St. Michael's Bay, about 20 km southeast of Charlottetown. This community has been settled year-round since the late 1950s, It is believed that the community and Pinsent's Island to the east were named for an early trader on the Labrador coast, Andrew Pinson, or for R. J. Pinsent, the appointed Judge of the Labrador coast in 1963.

Pinsent's Arm relies on many services at Charlottetown, such as schooling, postal services, shopping and medical services. The Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company operates a fish plant which helps the community to be self sufficient by producing whelks and scallops and snow crab.