Smith Sound, Newfoundland and Labrador
- For the Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, see Smith Sound
Smith Sound is a zigzag 24 kilometre inner region of Trinity Bay. The sound is one of the longest portions of inshore waterways in Newfoundland, located on its northeastern coast in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally charted by Captain James Cook, Bonavista Peninsula lies on the northside of the sound, while Random Island is to its south.
The area was visited seasonally by fisherman in the 1700's, and first settled in the 1800's, with permanent residents settling in during the 1850s through 1870s. In addition to the fishery industry, others were involved in sawmilling and slate quarrying. Towns abounded on both shores. Some changed or merged over the years, but a partial list includes White Rock and Burnt Brook (Brickyard),[1] along with Britannia, Lower Lance Cove, and Petly.[2] George's Brook was settled early on, around 1862, after John Pelley started a saw mill. King's Cove was renamed Milton in 1910. Sandy Point became Harcourt. Upper Rocky Brook became Monroe. Daniel's Cove became Waterville. Burgum's Cove was renamed Burgoyne's Cove in honor of a British general, John Burgoyne, who spent time in the area in the late 1700's.[3]
On the north shore of Smith Sound, across from Britannia, lies Nut Cove, known historically as the inclimate weather crash site of an American Convair B-36 bomber known as ‘The Peacemaker’, killing all on board on March 18, 1953, including Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, bound from the Azores to the plane's home in South Dakota. The calamity claimed more lives that night when all on board a second plane, a Boeing SB-29 Superfortress from Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador spotted the downed Convair, then disappeared, the plane and crew never seen again.[4]
In addition to its jellyfish harvesting industry,[5] Smith Sound is known for its large Atlantic cod population. In April 2003, thousands of dead Northern cod, a weight of approximately a quarter-million pounds, washed up on the shores of the sound within a few days, prompting scientific research into the cause.[6]
References
- ^ "NF-TRINITYBAY-L Archives". rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ "History of Random Island". clarenville.newfoundland.ws author=Kevin Elliott. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
{{cite web}}: Missing pipe in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Community Profiles". clarenville.newfoundland.ws. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe. ""They shall mount up with wings as eagles"". clarenville.newfoundland.ws. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ "Fisheries Diversification Program". gov.nl.ca. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ Debbie MacKenzie (April 7, 2003). "Northern cod discovered 'belly up' in Newfoundland …were they frozen, starved or suffocated?". fisherycrisis.com. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
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See also
Further reading
- Dunbar, M. J. Eastern Arctic Waters A Summary of Our Present Knowledge of the Physical Oceanography of the Eastern Arctic Sea, from Hudson Bay to Cape Farewell and from Belle Isle to Smith Sound. Ottawa: Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1951.
- Matthew, George Frederic. The Etcheminian Fauna of Smith Sound, Newfoundland. 1899.
- Rideout, R., M. Burton, and G. Rose. 2000. "Observations on Mass Atresia and Skipped Spawning in Northern Atlantic Cod, from Smith Sound, Newfoundland". Journal of Fish Biology. 57, no. 6: 1429-1440.
- Rose, George A. 2003. "Monitoring Coastal Northern Cod: Towards an Optimal Survey of Smith Sound, Newfoundland". ICES Journal of Marine Science : Journal Du Conseil. 60, no. 3: 453.
- Rose, George A. Acoustic Surveys of Smith Sound, Trinity Bay, 1995-2000. Ottawa: Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat, 2000.
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