Keywords Coastal Waters

Warm air masses moving from the Gulf Stream over the colder Labrador current water produce heavy FOG, especially in spring, when the air-sea temperature differences are greatest. ICEBERGS, carried along the edge of the banks by the Labrador current, are also most numerous in spring.

Grand Banks
The Grand Banks are one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The shallow waters are constantly mixed by the cool current from the north and the warm current from the south, making an ideal breeding ground for the nutrients that feed the fish (artwork by Michael Lee).

The Fishery
The banks are an internationally known fishing ground most noted for cod, but haddock, redfish, flatfish (including halibut), mackerel and herring are also caught. European explorers first noted the abundant fish resource in the late 15th century, and shortly thereafter the Grand Banks began to attract numerous European fishermen.

Oil Rig, Grand Banks
Off Canada's East Coast, a series of widely separated exploratory wells is needed to determine the potential of a particular area (photo by John deVisser).

Oil Fields
Oil drilling, which began on the banks in the late 1970s, gained public attention with the disastrous loss of the OCEAN RANGER rig and its crew of 84 persons on 15 February 1982. Oil production from the Hibernia oil field began in November 1997, followed by the Terra Nova field in January 2002.

Author KEN DRINKWATER and ALLYN CLARKE

Links to Other Sites
The Grand Banks
This fact-filled website about the Grand Banks of Newfoundland explains why it is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. From Parks Canada.

The Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap
An overview of fishing activity in the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap region. A Government of Canada website.

Dory Shop Museum
The website for Shelburne's Dory Shop Museum, where visitors can learn about the development of the dory, a small craft that became a vital part of the Grand Banks fishery.