Baccalieu Island or Bacalhoo Island () is a 5 km² uninhabited island at the northern extremities of

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

in Subdivision 1G, near the community of Red Head Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is separated from the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

by Baccalieu Tickle, a small

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

and an abundant fishing ground. The island has some trees but is mostly rocky. The name ''Baccalieu'' is derived either from the Portuguese ''

bacalhau () is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context— dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as ' (fresh cod). Portuguese and other cuisines dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonie ...

'', Spanish ''bacalao'' or the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

''baccalos'', all meaning " codfish". Early Portuguese maps dating before Columbus' voyage indicate an island west of the Azores named Terra do Bacalhau which may have been the whole island of Newfoundland. Modern Baccalieu Island was known to Europeans by that name since at least 1556, when it was drawn on the Gastaldi map as "Bacalaos".

Ecological Reserve

: Baccalieu Island is the largest seabird island in Newfoundland and supports the greatest diversity of breeding seabirds in eastern North America. The island supports the largest known colony of

Leach's storm-petrel Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel (''Hydrobates leucorhous'') is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. ''Hydrobates'' is from ...

in the world, approximately 40% of the global population and about 70% of the western Atlantic population of this species. It is a nesting area for 11 breeding species: *

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

(45,000 pairs - approximately 12% of the eastern North America population) * Black-legged kittiwake (13,000 - approximately 5 to 7% of the western Atlantic breeding population); and *

Northern gannet The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in t ...

(677 pairs - approximately 1.5% of the North American population). * Northern fulmar *

Black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

Common murre The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a Subarctic, circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming ...

Thick-billed murre The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (''Uria lomvia'') is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies ''Uria lomvia arra'' i ...

Razorbill The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus ''Alca (bird), Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinus impennis' ...

* Herring gull *

Great black-backed gull The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. It is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger which breeds on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic in northern Europe and northeastern Nort ...

* The island also includes one of the largest winter populations of eider in Newfoundland. The island has a surface of 5 km², and the reserve spans 23 km², including all of the island and one kilometre of ocean around the coast.

Lighthouses

Historically, two lighthouses were operated on Baccalieu Island; today both are automated. The lighthouse on the northern end is not operational any more; its light was extinguished in the early 1990s. This lighthouse was replaced as an aid to navigation by an automated light on a skeletal tower. It was originally a brick tower and was later encased in iron. The two storey residence attached was removed after 1950. The old tower's data: * Tower height: * Height of focal plane: * Description: Red, conical cast iron * Date established: 1859 * Date present tower built: 1858 * Date deactivated: 1990s * Current use: Unknown * Open to public: No

Lighthouse Keepers

North Light Keepers * James Ryan (1858 - 1874) (died 1875) * John Ryan (1874 - 1891) (died 1891) * Francis "Frank" Ryan (1891 - 1941) (died 1942) * James Francis Ryan (1941 - 1950) (died 1994) * Vincent Keough (1950-?) * Joseph Hatch * Felix Noonan (1963) * Eric Blundon * John Hyde * James Meaney Jr. (assistant under Frank Ryan) (died 1939) Southwest Light Keepers * William Cranford (1908 - 1911) * Duncan Blundon (1912 - ?) * Joseph Burse * William Blundon * Oliver Blundon * Arthur Young * John F. Hatch * Patrick Rice * F. J. Noonan * Raymond J. Hyde * Linus Walsh (? - 2002)

Ghost ship

In 1884 the merchant

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Resolven'' was found abandoned in the waters off Baccalieu and Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador. The fate of the crew is unknown.

Notes

External links

Buoys, Lights and Aids to Navigation
''Canadian Coast Guard''
Newfoundland Heritage SiteLighthouse DigestBaccalieu Island Ecological Reserve homepagePDF map of the island and the reservePicture of Baccalieu Island Lighthouse
{{Authority control , additional=Q29869493 Uninhabited islands of Newfoundland and Labrador Lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador Nature reserves in Newfoundland and Labrador