[2] It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and is the biggest of a group of five islands which extend north for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi).

Seal Island lightkeepers continued to rescue many shipwreck victims, most notably in 1843 when they saved all the crew and passengers of RMS Columbia, one of Samuel Cunard's first ocean liners.

Year round habitation ceased in 1990 but both villages host summer residents, most of whom have families who once lived on the island.

An old cookhouse, referred to as North Home, standing in the woods near the West Side, was purchased by a group of birders in the 1960s.

Lack of maintenance and poor ventilation of the lighthouse by the Canadian Coast Guard have raised fears about the condition of the historic structure.