Grand Banks
The Grand Banks, located off the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, are part of the North American continental shelf and are recognized as one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. This underwater region spans approximately 730 kilometers (450 miles) long and covers around 282,500 square kilometers (109,073 square miles), comprising several distinct banks, including the Grand, Green, and St. Pierre Banks. The unique confluence of the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream creates an ideal environment for marine life, supporting a diverse ecosystem rich in species like Atlantic cod, herring, and various shellfish, along with numerous seabirds and marine mammals.
Historically, the area has been a significant fishing site, but by the early 1990s, overfishing led to a serious depletion of fish stocks, notably cod, resulting in a fishing moratorium that still influences the region today. Additionally, the Grand Banks have been the focus of oil and gas drilling since the late 1970s, which has become a crucial economic activity for the surrounding communities. Climate change poses a growing concern, as it may affect the delicate balance of ocean currents critical to the Grand Banks' ecosystem. Overall, the Grand Banks represent a vital natural resource, intertwining ecological significance with economic importance.
Grand Banks
Beneath the cold, choppy waters off the southeast coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland, the North American continental shelf stretches out several hundred kilometers before plunging deep to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, where the arctic Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream, Newfoundland's Grand Banks provide some of the richest fishing grounds on earth and some of the most treacherous shipping routes in history.
Geography
The Grand Banks make up only a part of North America's large continental shelf. Scientists believe that about ten thousand years ago, at the end of the last ice age, the water from melting glaciers caused the sea levels of the Atlantic Ocean to rise. When water levels stabilized, the area that now forms the Grand Banks was sunk to an average of 55 meters (180 feet), with some places reaching 180 meters (600 feet) deep.
The submerged land off the Canadian coast is broader that anywhere else on the North American seaboard. It is also one of the widest stretches of continental shelf in the world, reaching 480 kilometers (300 miles) from the shore.
Along the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, the sea floor rises up below the water to form a vast series of banks 730 kilometers (450 miles) long and covering some 282,500 square kilometers (109,073 square miles) in total. The Grand Banks consist of several distinct banks, the principal banks being the Grand, Green, and St. Pierre Banks.
Underwater Life
Between these underwater banks, which are typically shallow enough to let sunlight through to the ocean's floor, deep trenches plunge hundred of meters underneath the water's surface, creating upwells of cold ocean bottom water. The Labrador Current brings cold waters from the north, while the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream flow from the south. This unique geography of the Grand Banks creates an ideal environment for the growth of plankton to support a diverse array of marine life. At the same time, climatologists and environmental conservationists were concerned by the end of the 2010s that increased temperatures linked to climate change were having an effect on the circulation balance and migration of the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current, which could negatively impact the Grand Banks environment.
The presence of sunlight at the ocean's floor allows for aquatic plants that depend on photosynthesis, the conversion of energy from sunlight into oxygen and usable sugars. The result is a lush underwater environment where an incredible assortment of fish and other marine life spawn, birth, and feed.
Atlantic cod, herring, haddock, flatfish, herring, mackerel, halibut, lobster, and scallops, among others, flourish in the waters of the Grand Banks. With fish and shellfish come seabirds. Endangered harlequin ducks, rare shearwaters, petrels, and kittiwakes feed on the plentiful takings from the sea. Marine mammals, including several types of seals, swim among porpoises, dolphins, and at least eight different species of whale. By the early 1990s, the fish stocks of the Grand Banks, particularly cod, were significantly depleted due to overfishing. This led to a moratorium on fishing cod in the area of the Grand Banks; some limited fishing has been reauthorized, but cod stocks remain low. Oil and gas drilling began on the Grand Banks in the late 1970s and came to represent the economic mainstay of the area.
Cultural Impact
The long history of fishing on the Grand Banks influenced the development of maritime communities along much of the northern Atlantic coast of North America. The historically rugged lifestyle of many of these fishing communities has been portrayed in many examples of literature and film, although economic changes in the late twentieth century brought significant change. The oil industry has also left a mark on the region. The sinking of the exploration drilling rig Ocean Ranger in a 1982 storm with the loss of all eighty-two crew members drew public attention to the industry and the often dangerous conditions of the Grand Banks. By the 2020s, environmental activists had been increasing calls for greater, independent regulation of the oil industry in the Grand Banks, arguing that economic benefits were prioritized over marine ecological preservation, particularly after harmful oil spills such as one in 2018 that occurred during the attempt to restart production soon after a powerful storm in the area. Many other shipwrecks have also contributed to the reputation of the Grand Banks, including the infamous sinking of the HMS Titanic in 1912 and later attempts to locate the wreckage. Storms, fog, icebergs, rogue waves, and other hazards continue to be of concern to vessels in the area.
Bibliography
Brodie, William B., Stephen J. Walsh, and Dawn Maddock Parsons. "An Evaluation of the Collapse and Recovery of the Yellowtail Flounder (Limanda ferruginea) Stock on the Grand Bank." ICES Journal of Marine Science 67.9 (2010): 1887-95. EBSCO Academic Search Complete. 27 Mar. 2014.
Burke, C. M., W. A. Montevecchi, and F. K. Wiese. "Inadequate Environmental Monitoring around Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms on the Grand Bank of Eastern Canada: Are Risk to Marine Birds Known?" Journal of Environmental Management 104 (2012): 121–26. EBSCO Academic Search Complete. 27 Mar. 2014.
Clarke, R. Allyn, and Kenneth F. Drinkwater. "Grand Banks." The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 4 Mar. 2015,www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/grand-banks/. Accessed 20 Aug. 2018.
Han, Guoqi, Zhimin Ma, and Nancy Chen. "Hurricane Igor Impacts on the Stratification and Phytoplankton Bloom over the Grand Banks." Journal of Marine Systems 100/101 (2012): 19–25. EBSCO Academic Search Complete. 27 Mar. 2014.
Mercer, Greg. "Newfoundland's Offshore Oil Gamble." The Narwhal, 19 Feb. 2019, thenarwhal.ca/newfoundlands-offshore-oil-gamble/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2021.
Neto, Afonso Gonçalves, et al. Communications Earth & Environment, 20 Apr. 2021, doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00143-5. Accessed 9 Nov. 2021.
Rose, Alex. Who Killed the Grand Banks?: The Untold Story behind the Decimation of One of the World's Greatest Natural Resources. Mississauga: Wiley, 2007. Print.