Fanny Bay
| Settlement of Fanny Bay | |
|---|---|
| Settlement | |
 Location of Fanny Bay in British Columbia |
|
| Coordinates: 49°29′41″N 124°49′11″W / 49.49472°N 124.81972°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 British Columbia
|
| Region | Vancouver Island |
| Regional district | Comox Valley |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.40 km2 (2.86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 815 |
| • Density | 110.1/km2 (285/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| Postal code span | V0R 1W0 |
| Area code(s) | 250, 778 |
| Highways | 19A |
| Waterways | Baynes Sound |
| Website | fannybaycommunity |
Fanny Bay is a small hamlet in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located on Baynes Sound on the east coast of Vancouver Island. In 2001, its population was listed as 815. It is best known for its fine oysters.
There is no consensus on the origin of the name "Fanny Bay" and none of the various explanations — comical, romantic, local or historical — can be considered without scepticism. The name first appeared on British Columbia maps in 1913 and was officially adopted by the government in 1923. This adoption was based on British Admiralty charts of the 1860s, taken from surveys by Royal Navy Captain G.H. Richards. However, if Capt. Richards knew who "Fanny" was, he did not record the information. Geographer A.B. McNeill wrote in his book Origin of Station Names, Esquimalt and Nanaimo Division that "...Fanny Bay was named after a sea captain who lived in this vicinity". Alas, like Capt. Richards, McNeill provides no dates or any other supporting information. A popular and persistent local theory holds that Fanny Bay was named by Captain George Vancouver in 1792. However, Capt. Vancouver's nautical charts and journals only describe the east side of the nearest body of water, the Strait of Georgia (including Texada Island). He had nothing more than a rough outline of the eastern shore of Vancouver Island between Nanaimo and Comox, and his charts omitted several nearby islands and other features. Therefore, it seems highly unlikely that Capt. Vancouver would have been able to proffer this name.
Fanny Bay is well known as a source of farmed shellfish, specifically Pacific oysters (scientific name Crassostrea gigas), manila clams (Venerupis philippinarum), savoury clams (Nuttallia obscurata) and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), for both domestic and global markets.
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