a diaphone foghorn, which was housed in a newly constructed fog alarm building. In 1906 a new keeper's residence was built of brick, and in 1931 this was in turn replaced by a -storey reinforced concrete dwelling attached to the lighthouse tower. It was designed to house two lighthouse keepers and their families. In 1967 the lantern and lens were removed from the tower, which was suspected of being inadequate to support their weight. They were replaced by an aluminum lantern containing a rotating airport beacon. The reassembled Fresnel lens is now housed in the Grand Manan Museum in Grand Harbour. There it is the centrepiece of the Walter B. McLaughlin Marine Gallery, whose name honours Gannet Rock's longest serving (1853-1880) head lighthouse keeper. A cable attached to a Canadian Coast Guard vessel was used to detach the massive iron lantern from the top of the tower. Gannet Rock lighthouse keepers Gannet Rock was staffed from 1831 until 1996, when the last keepers were removed from the then fully automated light station. During the 19th and early 20th centuries resident keepers were accompanied by their families, but by the 1950s teams of keepers worked monthlong shifts on Gannet Rock, alternating with off-duty periods ashore. Gannet Rock in the 21st century In 2002 the light and foghorn, which had been powered by diesel-generated electricity, were solarized. At that time the Coast Guard planned to "completely restore and maintain the exterior of this historic structure that continues to be an essential aid to navigation in the Bay of Fundy". In early 2003 the Canadian Coast Guard gutted the keeper's house, which had developed interior mold. However, the site continued to deteriorate and by late 2010 the Coast Guard deemed Gannet Rock "no longer safe for maintenance crews to visit". The light and foghorn remain operational and are listed in the "List of lights, buoys, and fog signals" in the Canadian Coast Guard's Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR). In 2010 the Canadian Parliament passed the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (Bill S-215), which allows citizens to petition the government to designate and preserve historically significant lighthouses. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard, then declared all of its 976 active and inactive lighthouses, including Gannet Rock, "surplus to requirements". Surplus lighthouses will not be protected under the act unless a community group agrees to take financial responsibility for