Baccalieu Island is located off the easterly tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula. The island is three miles long and a half-mile wide. It has been on mariner’s maps since the 17^th century. The island has been important to the fishermen in the area. There were generations of families that grew up on the island as lighthouse keeper, the Walsh’s, Rice’s and the Ryan’s. Other families also spent there summers there to prosecute the inshore fishery. The lighthouse on the northern end has been there since 1858, which is observable at sea at about 10 miles; at the south west end, the lighthouse has been there since 1904 and is able to be seen from about 8 miles away.

Many shipwrecks took place at the island, as the waters are tricky to navigate. There were over 200 lives lost near the island between 1706 and 1984 from some 20 known disasters. In 1882, The Lion, a sealing ship of 292 tons, was wrecked with 59 passengers and crew.
The body of Mrs. James Cross was the only one recovered.

The heritage of Baccalieu Island is related to the varied seabirds that have settled on the island. It is a nesting area for 11 breeding species. Most can be viewed from the water. The largest colony in the world (over three million pairs) of Leach’s Storm Petrel made Baccalieu Island their home, also the Atlantic Puffin are located there, this is a site of one of only six colonies of Northern Gannet and there are only two other breeding sites for Northern Fulmar. Also found are the Common Murre, and the most southerly limit of the species range of both the Thick-billed Murre and Razorbill. Along with the rest there are Black Guillmot, Black legged Kittywake, Herring Gull and the Great Black-backed Gull. The island also includes one of the largest winter populations of Eider in Newfoundland.

"Baccalieu Island is listed as a special site " in the International Biological Program, which identified natural sites that are important globally.