Canada’s Atlantic coastline stretches over thousands of kilometers, offering a rich habitat for some of the most fascinating marine creatures on the planet. From colorful seabirds to mysterious deep sea dwellers, these waters teem with life you won’t find anywhere else. Exploring these unique animals gives us a window into the delicate ecosystems that thrive in the cold North Atlantic currents.
While these animals are commonly associated with Canada’s Atlantic regions, some species may occasionally appear in neighboring waters or have ranges that extend slightly beyond these shorelines.
1. Atlantic Puffin
With its clown-like orange beak and tuxedo feathers, the Atlantic Puffin looks like nature’s comedian. These charming seabirds nest in massive colonies along rocky cliffs and islands off Newfoundland and Labrador.
Puffins are excellent swimmers, using their wings to propel themselves underwater while hunting small fish like capelin. They can carry multiple fish crosswise in their beaks at once, thanks to special backward-facing spines on their tongues and palates that hold slippery prey securely.
2. Northern Gannet
Imagine a bird that dives from 30 meters high, hitting the water at speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour. That’s the Northern Gannet for you, a spectacular hunter with snow white plumage and golden head markings.
Cape St. Mary’s in Newfoundland hosts one of North America’s largest and most accessible gannet colonies. Their dramatic plunge dives create impressive splashes as they chase fish beneath the surface, folding their wings back like arrows for maximum speed and precision.
3. Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin
Playful and social, Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins travel in pods that sometimes number in the hundreds. Their striking color pattern features bold white and yellowish tan patches along their flanks, making them easy to identify.
These energetic marine mammals love to bow ride alongside boats and perform acrobatic leaps. They feed primarily on herring, mackerel, and squid in the cold, nutrient rich waters off Nova Scotia and beyond, often cooperating with pod members during hunts.
4. Common Murre
Standing upright like penguins on crowded cliff ledges, Common Murres pack together in noisy breeding colonies that can number in the thousands. Each pair lays a single, pear shaped egg directly on bare rock.
The egg’s unique shape prevents it from rolling off narrow ledges, instead spinning in tight circles. These skilled divers pursue fish at depths exceeding 100 meters, staying submerged for over a minute. Their chocolate brown and crisp white coloring provides camouflage from predators above and below.
5. Leatherback Sea Turtle
The ocean’s gentle giants, Leatherback Sea Turtles, migrate thousands of kilometers to feast on jellyfish in Canadian Atlantic waters each summer. Unlike other sea turtles, their shells consist of thick, leathery skin rather than hard plates.
These remarkable reptiles can maintain body temperatures warmer than surrounding water, allowing them to survive in surprisingly cold northern seas. Weighing up to 900 kilograms, they’re the largest turtles on Earth and face threats from fishing gear entanglement and plastic pollution.
6. Atlantic Cod
Once so abundant that early explorers claimed you could walk across their backs, Atlantic Cod shaped the entire history and economy of Atlantic Canada. These bottom feeders sport a distinctive chin barbel that helps them locate food in murky waters.
Cod can live over 20 years and grow quite large, though overfishing devastated populations in the 1990s. Conservation efforts continue today to help stocks recover. Their importance to Canadian culture and cuisine remains undeniable, from fish and chips to traditional salt cod dishes.
