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Grand Bank or 'Grand Banc' as the first French settlers pronounced it, is a small rural town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a population of 2,580. It is located on the southern tip or "toe" of the Burin Peninsula (also known as "the boot"), 360 km from the province's capital of St. John's .
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod , swordfish , haddock and capelin , as well as shellfish, seabirds and sea mammals.
The 1929 Grand Banks earthquake (also called the Laurentian Slope earthquake and the South Shore Disaster) occurred on November 18, 1929.The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Rossi–Forel intensity of VI (Strong tremor) and was centered in the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Laurentian Slope seismic zone.
In 1949 Newfoundland joined Canada as a province, and thus Newfoundland's fishery fell under the management of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The department mismanaged the resource and allowed overfishing. [11] [12] In 1969 the number of fishing trawlers increased, and coastal fishermen complained to the government. [13]
The Laurentian Slope Seismic Zone is a seismically active area in Atlantic Canada located on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. It was the epicenter of the 7.2 magnitude 1929 Grand Banks earthquake. [1]
In June 1964 an expedition sponsored by the Government of Newfoundland, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the College of Fisheries explored the Virgin Rocks. A team of divers were sent down to mount a plaque on the ocean bottom in 19 m of water, the first time man had walked upon the surface of the Grand Banks.
Taylor’s Bay was one of the forty small communities directly affected by the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake and tsunami, which destroyed many buildings, fishing stages and flakes, stores, boats, and other structures; only five of the community’s seventeen houses remained standing. [3]
The cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream meet on the Grand Banks, making the area not only one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, but also one of the foggiest areas. [34] The Grand Banks are an area of significant petroleum production with Hibernia, White Rose and Terra Nova oil fields all located there.