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

When Tara Saunders' husband went out to check his lobster pots on Saturday afternoon, she didn't expect he would also bring home an apparent military artillery shell.

She couldn't believe it when her husband, Stewart Saunders, called to tell her he jumped in the water to pick up the object, and then he and his skipper Randell Clarke put the object in their boat and brought it home.

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

"I immediately just stood back and I thought, 'Oh my goodness me, this thing is absolutely massive.'"

Saunders says her husband and son were picking up the object when she made the call to police. The Bell Island RCMP told them to immediately vacate the premises, and within five minutes, officers had arrived. 

In a statement, police described the object as "an apparent military artillery shell."

Police transported it to the Bell Island airstrip safely, moving it far from residential areas. The RCMP sent out a notice to the public that evening warning residents to avoid the airstrip until further notice.

The release said the object will be continuously monitored until experts can properly dispose of it.

The RCMP said it believes there is no risk to public safety, but it's proceeding with an abundance of caution. 

Shell could be alive, says expert

Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador president Neil Burgess says the object does indeed look like an artillery shell. He says it's not a common find in the ocean surrounding Bell Island. Before Saturday, the last shells found in the area were on land near St. Philip's in 1942, he said. 

"To my knowledge, no artillery shells have been found since then until this past week," Burgess said.

While Burgess thinks the fisherman has "an eagle eye" to be able to see the shell, he also said "it was perhaps a bit foolish" to pick up the object and bring it home in his truck. 

Burgess said he also expects that apparent munition was live.

"From the picture it looked like it had a fuse in the front of the shell," he said.

"That's a hell of a risk to take because if it goes off, it's a huge explosion."

Burgess said the police sent a bomb disposal crew to take care of the shell safely.

Potential Second World War missile

Saunders says police told her the object was from the Second World War and weighed approximately 30 pounds.

During the war, Bell Island was the target of Nazi U-boats aiming to disrupt iron ore exports. In 1942, the attacks resulted in the sinking of four ships and the deaths of 70 men.

Clarke has been a fisherman on Bell Island for over 60 years, and this is the first time he has ever seen a missile in the ocean, said Saunders. 

Saunders said the response from police was incredible.

In retrospect, Saunders said, her husband and Clarke are very lucky they weren't harmed. 

"For the amount of handling and the bumping of the road it did and coming in off the boat with it … I keep telling my husband and Randell that they're like cats with nine lives and they have two used up," she said.

Saunders said she hopes her husband won't pull a missile out of the ocean again.

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