Red Head Cove is a fishing village in Newfoundland and Labrador located near the tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula separating Trinity Bay and Conception Bay, in a steep valley north of Bay de Verde. Red Head Cove is a fishing community. The cove provides very little shelter or level ground for building homes. To the north is a reddish color headland, which gives the community its name. Red Head Cove provides the closest access to the prime fishing grounds of Baccalieu Tickle.
Contents |
The settlement is mostly Roman Catholic. During the 1900s many of the nearby communities were increasing their involvement in the Labrador fishery, however, Red Head Cove remained primarily an inshore fishing community.
In 1954, brothers Morris Quinlan and Patrick Quinlan bought the business of James F. O'Neill of Bay de Verde and established Quinlan Brothers Limited. In due course, they built a relatively small ‘fish plant’ on the waterfront at Foreside. Even though fish had been caught and sold in a variety of ways since early settlement, this was the first fresh codfish processing operation in Bay de Verde. By the early 1960s, the salt cod industry had virtually come to an end and consequently, the ‘fish plant’ became the mainstay of the fishery in Bay de Verde. In time, along with cod, many other species were processed. After the cod moratorium of 1992 Quinlan Bros. turned their attention to the processing of snow crab and shrimp. With their base of operation in Bay de Verde, they are now one of the largest producers of these products in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many residents of Red Head Cove obtained employment at this fish plant or on the long-liner fleet at that port.