Canvey Island Canvey Island Canvey Island is a civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary in Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170. It is separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks. Lying only just above sea level it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides, but has nevertheless been inhabited since the Roman invasion of Britain. The island was mainly agricultural land until the 20th century when it became the fastest growing seaside resort in Britain between 1911 and 1951. The North Sea flood of 1953 devastated the island,
Dee Estuary channel which it cut through the base of the Wirral Peninsula. The estuary is a major wildlife area and one of the most important estuaries in Britain, amongst the most important in Europe for its populations of waders and wildfowl. The Environment Agency is the Conservation Authority, and the estuary is protected or listed under several schemes: Large parts of the area are within the RSPB's Dee Estuary Nature Reserve. The estuary supports some important natural fisheries, including salmon and trout on their way to and from the freshwater river, as well as sea-fisheries and shell-fisheries, especially cockles. From earliest