Shelf-margin deltas have not been explicitly recognized as a play type in the passive margin basin offshore Nova Scotia, perhaps because Mesozoic shelf-margin positions are rarely well resolved in seismic data. It is argued, however, that several of the largest gas accumulations offshore Nova Scotia (Venture, Alma, Glenelg) occur in growth-faulted shelf-margin delta complexes that formed at or near the paleoshelf edge during periods of low relative sea-level. Shelf-margin deltas are excellent exploration targets for several reasons: they commonly have laterally-extensive shale seals and expanded sandstone reservoirs, are associated with early movement on growth fault structures, and are commonly over-pressured. Also, because they commonly link downdip to sand accumulations on the slope and basin floor, identification of shelf margin depocentres can help identify the location of "deep-water" exploration targets. Criteria that have proved useful in identifying shelf-margin deltas offshore Nova Scotia include: (1) proximity to large-scale (i.e. at least several hundred metres relief) basinward-dipping slope reflections; (2) association with large-scale listric growth faults; (3) evidence of delta-front/prodelta gravity-flow deposition in core; (4) relatively large scale upward-coarsening deltaic/shoreface successions (several tens-of-metres to over two hundred metres thick); and (5) paleoecological evidence for rapid shallowing. Recognition of the growth-faulted shelf-margin play type will not only improve exploitation strategies in offshore Nova Scotia, but provide an important framework to guide the identification of new exploration opportunities in genetically-related parts of the stratigraphic section.