Grey Islands

The Grey Islands, Bell and Groais, were familiar landmarks to fishermen before Jacques Cartier called there in 1534 and 1535. French vessels probably already used them as fishing bases in the early sixteenth century. Cartier placed the pair on the map of his first voyage, and Freire's map of 1547 separately recorded Bell and Groais under recognisable forms of their names.

These islands belonged to a fishery whose working geography was established by repeated seasonal voyages. Breton crews used sheltered St Anthony Harbour as a base for grounds extending from the Strait of Belle Isle to the Grey Island banks. The islands' appearance in exploration narratives therefore followed the practical knowledge of fishermen already crossing the Atlantic and working Newfoundland's northern coast.