The Flemish Cap is an area of shallow waters in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean centered roughly at 47° north, 45° west or about 350 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The shallow water is caused by a wide underwater plateaus covering an extended area of 12,000 square miles. Depths at the cape range from approximately 400 feet to 2,300 feet. The Flemish Cap is located within an area of unrest between the cold waters of the Labrador Current and warmer waters influenced by the North Atlantic Current. The mixing of the warmer and colder waters over the plateaus produces the characteristic clockwise circulation current over the cap.

The Flemish Cap waters are noted for generous fishing waters and halibut, swordfish and shrimp are found in great supply here. Overfishing has become a serious issue in the last several years. Cod and American plaice are particularly endangered here and the numbers of redfish have shown a notable decline.

In recent years, Canada had made the effort to restrict overfishing in the region by stipulating use of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.