Bell Island fishermen went out for lobster, but caught 'apparent' artillery shell

Abby Cole · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 9:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 16

When Tara Saunders' hubby went retired to cheque his lobster pots connected Saturday afternoon, she didn't expect helium would besides bring location an evident subject artillery shell.

She couldn't judge it erstwhile her husband, Stewart Saunders, called to archer her helium jumped successful the h2o to prime up the object, and past helium and his skipper Randell Clarke enactment the entity successful their vessel and brought it home.

"I said, what? You got to beryllium kidding me," Saunders told CBC News.

"I instantly conscionable stood backmost and I thought, 'Oh my goodness me, this happening is perfectly massive.'"

Saunders says her hubby and lad were picking up the entity erstwhile she made the telephone to police. The Bell Island RCMP told them to instantly vacate the premises, and wrong 5 minutes, officers had arrived. 

In a statement, constabulary described the entity arsenic "an evident subject artillery shell."

Police transported it to the Bell Island airstrip safely, moving it acold from residential areas. The RCMP sent retired a announcement to the nationalist that evening informing residents to debar the airstrip until further notice.

The merchandise said the entity volition beryllium continuously monitored until experts tin decently dispose of it.

The RCMP said it believes determination is nary hazard to nationalist safety, but it's proceeding with an abundance of caution. 

Shell could beryllium alive, says expert

Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador president Neil Burgess says the entity does so look like an artillery shell. He says it's not a communal find successful the water surrounding Bell Island. Before Saturday, the past shells recovered successful the country were connected onshore adjacent St. Philip's in 1942, helium said. 

"To my knowledge, nary artillery shells person been recovered since past until this past week," Burgess said.

While Burgess thinks the fisherman has "an eagle eye" to beryllium capable to spot the shell, helium besides said "it was possibly a spot foolish" to prime up the object and bring it location successful his truck. 

Burgess said helium besides expects that evident munition was live.

"From the representation it looked similar it had a fuse successful the beforehand of the shell," helium said.

"That's a hellhole of a hazard to instrumentality due to the fact that if it goes off, it's a immense explosion."

Burgess said the constabulary sent a weaponry disposal unit to instrumentality attraction of the ammunition safely.

Potential Second World War missile

Saunders says constabulary told her the entity was from the Second World War and weighed astir 30 pounds.

During the war, Bell Island was the people of Nazi U-boats aiming to disrupt robust ore exports. In 1942, the attacks resulted successful the sinking of 4 ships and the deaths of 70 men.

Clarke has been a fisherman connected Bell Island for implicit 60 years, and this is the archetypal clip helium has ever seen a rocket successful the ocean, said Saunders. 

Saunders said the effect from constabulary was incredible.

In retrospect, Saunders said, her hubby and Clarke are precise fortunate they weren't harmed. 

"For the magnitude of handling and the bumping of the roadworthy it did and coming successful disconnected the vessel with it … I support telling my hubby and Randell that they're similar cats with 9 lives and they person 2 utilized up," she said.

Saunders said she hopes her hubby won't pull a rocket retired of the water again.

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