Tag Archives: gloucester
Gloucester: Blessing of Fleet asks for good weather, a good catch and a safe return
The annual Blessing of the Fleet held Sunday afternoon saw several dozen vessels blessed by the Rev. James Achadinha of the Catholic Community of Gloucester and Rockport. On Sunday morning, hundreds gathered for the annual open air Mass, held before the outdoor altar at St. Peter’s Square. Following the Mass was the procession of several bands, floats and eight men who carried the statue of St. Peter on their shoulders. By the afternoon, crowds gathered along Stacy Boulevard to witness the blessing of several dozen vessels, part of the local Italian-American fishing fleet, one of the St. Peter’s Fiesta’s integral events. 8 photos, >click to read< 09:18
Fiesta: ‘What we are all about’
After a couple of days of carnival rides and musical entertainment, and a day of competition among seine boat crews and Greasy Pole walkers, America’s oldest seaport in its 400th year gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Friday night to officially kickoff the 96th St. Peter’s Fiesta. The celebration by the city’s Italian-American fishing community in the Fort neighborhood dates to 1927 and is hosted by the St. Peter’s Fiesta Committee. It’s held each year on the weekend closest to the Feast Day of St. Peter. The committee’s president, Joe Novello, took to the massive outdoor altar that Novello, an electrician by trade, wired. In opening the weekend’s festivities, he spoke about the thousands who have gathered in the neighborhood over the years to celebrate Fiesta and shout “Viva San Pietro!” Photos, >click to read< 97:47
Dave Marciano Illness: What Happened To His Health?
Dave Marciano is one of the most well-known stars of Wicked Tuna. There are some whispers going around that he is sick at this time. These rumors are unconfirmed and appear to be hoaxes. Despite these rumors, Marciano seems healthy and is regularly engaging with admirers on social media. Commercial fisherman Dave Marciano, who stars in “Wicked Tuna,” is selling fresh tuna. Angelica’s Seafoods, Marciano’s new company, sells tuna and other seafood directly to consumers. Marciano’s kid was born during the filming “Wicked Tuna.” Marciano’s Hard Merchandise and other local boats will supply Angelica’s seafood with tuna. The company will sell lobster, scallops, crab, and sushi-grade tuna. Online seafood orders will be delivered to customers. >click to read< 09:37
New England Fishing Culture
In New Bedford, fishing is more than a business—it is a way of life, passed down through generations of families like a tradition instead of an occupation. Born into a family of fishermen, Tyler Miranda grew up on the water, going out on trips in his father’s lobster boat—a wooden vessel about 14 feet long and half-covered in ocean-worn lobster traps—since he was six. Kellen O’Maley, a fisherman from Gloucester, Mass., chose not to pursue opportunities using a business degree. (Gloucester, a town two hours north of New Bedford, is the second largest fishing port in the state.) Instead, he dove into the fishing industry. >click to read< 10:19
Dear Ed Markey. I called your office this morning regarding our fishermen
First let me tell you who I am. I was a commercial fisherman and in seafood supply for over sixty years. I helped Pat Fiero run for state representative, and also was former Governor Mike Dukakis chairman for Cape Ann. I have severed on many fisheries boards and presently serve on the GF Commission. You helped me get the SKG money out of NOAA’s hands by voting in favor of Senator Sullivan bill to go back to advisory panel as was in 1954. I have supported you in the past and will continue. We need help now. I am going to list our problems and would like you to come to Fisheries Meeting here in Gloucester. We meet every third Thursday of the month at City Hall. >click to read< 21:11
Effort to save Gloucester’s oldest gillnetter sinks
During Gloucester’s celebration of its 400+ anniversary this year, America’s oldest seaport will say farewell to its oldest fishing vessel, the Phyllis A., a 59-foot gillnetter built in 1925. The 98-year-old vessel will not see its centennial. Efforts to raise enough money for its restoration and preservation were sunk in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and a slow trickle of money to support the educational nonprofit doing the work, the Phyllis A. Marine Association. “She fished out of Gloucester for 75 years, never anywhere else, and she was owned by the same family — the Arnold family,” said Gloria Parsons, a long-time member of the association. 12 photos, >click to read< 08:52
Fishermen: Haddock limits to lead to shutdown
In two tows during a fishing trip in March, Gloucester fisherman Joe Orlando caught what could have been almost his entire allocation for Gulf of Maine haddock under catch limits proposed for fishing year 2023, which begins May 1. Orlando harvested 7,000 pounds in those two tows, about a half day’s worth of fishing, Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition pointed out to members of the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries and others in an email. His allocation for the upcoming fishing year is expected to be 8,000 pounds. >click to read< 07:57
Gloucester eyes higher commercial slip fees but a bad ad postpones the vote
A plan by the nation’s oldest seaport to double what it charges for commercial slip fees has hit a bump. The City Council will have another go to consider the proposed slip fee hike and other changes to Gloucester’s Waterways Administration ordinance ,, The raft of proposals includes increasing the monthly fee from $4 per foot to an $8 a foot for commercial slips at the city-owned St. Peter’s and Harbor Cove (I-4, C-2) marinas. The lack of publicity about the possible changes cropped up when Concord Street resident and I-4, C-2 tenant Arthur “Sookie” Sawyer said he had just found out about the changes that evening. “To increase the rent over 100% on no notice to the tenant is kind of a hard pill to swallow,” Sawyer said. >click to read< 18:43
‘Wicked Tuna’: T.J. Ott Pays 5-Figure Fine for Illegal Act
Back on Dec. 7, 2022, the Massachusetts Environmental Police revealed that its officers began investigating the illegal sale of bluefin tuna, a federally regulated species in October 2021. During the investigation, they discovered that bluefin tuna was being sold at a Gloucester fish market, and a captain faced criminal charges. In November 2022, the captain reached a plea deal with the state and paid $13,000 in fines for the illegal sale of the fish. Although the post didn’t mention Ott, the Gloucester Daily Times later reported that he was the captain involved. >click to read< 07:57
Gloucester webinar tackles concerns about wind farm projects
At the nascent stage of wind farm development in the Gulf of Maine, a webinar last week looked at the possible impacts to marine life, coastal communities and fisheries while acknowledging there are many unknowns to such projects. Capt. Al Cottone, a commercial fisherman and executive director of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission, said the industry has “a ton of questions that haven’t been answered yet. And I don’t think these questions will be answered in the time frame that was shown earlier in the presentation and it’s very concerning to the industry.” “We are very concerned about the displacement of vessels,” Cottone said. “Once you start losing access to fishing grounds, it puts a lot of pressure on other fishing grounds.” >click to read< 12:28
Risking it all in the Blizzard of ’78
In early February 1978, the Joseph & Lucia III had been fishing for about a week. Despite storm warnings, Capt. Gaetano “Tom” Brancaleone decided to continue fishing. His crew of seven included his brother and engineer, Antonio “The Chief” Brancaleone; first mate Frank D’Amico; cook Gil Roderick; fish hold man Gaspar Palazola; and deckhands Joe Charlie Brancaleone and Santo Aloi. At the tail end of the blizzard, after days of worry — “we could just look out the window to see the wind whipping up snow drifts 7 or 8 feet high,” recalled Tom — the family finally received a call on the radio. The Joseph & Lucia III had made it! But Tom now needed to get to the Boston Fish Pier to help lump (unload) the boat. >click to read< 10:58
Stability class aims to keep fishing vessels and crews upright
The Burlington-based nonprofit Fishing Partnership Support Services came to Coast Guard Station Gloucester on Harbor Loop to give 13 people who risk their lives at sea to make a living training on how to best keep their boat stable while fishing. Some local commercial fishermen traded a day on the water for a morning in the classroom Friday as they learned from instructors the importance of removing ice from the decks and rigging to prevent raising a boat’s center of gravity, making sure deck scuppers are clear to allow water to drain, preventing loads or equipment on deck from shifting rapidly, and battening down hatches to make sure water cannot get below deck. >click to read< 14:55
16-hour Coast Guard tow brings F/V Miss Trish II home
The crew of a Gloucester fishing vessel spent about 12 hours adrift far from shore after its transmission failed and before the Coast Guard towed it home. Coast Guard officials, responding to an emergency call from the Miss Trish II were able to reach the boat about 75 miles offshore over the weekend and tow her safely back to port. Jim Bridges, commanding officer at U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester said none of the six men aboard the Miss Trish II were injured during the incident. Crew on the Miss Trish II called the Coast Guard around 5 p.m. Saturday, Bridges said, indicating the ship’s engine would not start. >click to read< 18:34
Captain Peter Parisi of Gloucester, Massachusetts, has passed away
Capt. Peter Parisi, 64, of Gloucester, passed away on Thursday, December 29, 2022, in the comfort of his home. He was the former husband of Michelene (Parisi) Mina. Born in Gloucester on March 23, 1958, to a large fishing family, Peter grew up on the family fishing boats which led him to begin fishing for his father in the seventh grade. This was the beginning of his life as a fisherman. Peter had much love and respect for the ocean as he knew the ocean floor better than he did land. Peter took great pride in fishing and supporting his family. He eventually owned his own fishing vessel and named it after his daughter the F/V Tanya Lynne. Peter loved spending time with his family and especially enjoyed making his famous fish cakes that he would hand deliver to his brothers and sisters-in-law. Peter always gave a helping hand to all that needed it and underneath his weathered, rugged shell was a man with a huge heart that cared very much for others, while always giving and never expecting in return. >click to read< 12:45
Captain Peter Parisi, the last of three generations of Gloucester fishermen, has passed away
Captain Peter Parisi fished all his life. He passed away, unexpectedly, at age 64. Back in 1991 he was going to go shipmate with Captain Billy Tyne, Jr, on the swordfish boat F/V Andrea Gail. Fate was on his side when he got a toothache and called Billy to cancel. No one survived, He was my youngest brother along with my brother Captain James Parisi, who died ten years ago at the age of seventy. I have one brother left, Mike Parisi, who had at one time owned the Three Lantern Ship Supply. I am so sorry to lose them. My heart goes out to them, may they rest in peace. Sam Parisi. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made. 09:00
‘Wicked Tuna’ captain pays $13K in tuna sale plea deal
The captain of the fishing vessel Hot Tuna, featured in the hit reality television show “Wicked Tuna,” found himself in some wicked hot water in October 2021 and recently paid for it. The case on nine counts of violation of a commercial fishing license against Capt. Timothy J. “TJ” Ott of Great Neck, New York, was disposed of on Oct. 28, 2022, according to Essex District Attorney spokesperson Carrie Kimball and court documents. Kimball said Ott was ordered to pay $13,500 in restitution. According to a district court clerk, the money goes to the state’s environmental trust fund. >click to read< 07:12
Jerry Leeman: 350 years of experience
15 captains showed up today in Gloucester, Mass., and their total experience together was over 350 years of knowledge. We discussed the white hake issue. They say the biomass isn’t the problem they’re just not seeing small hake. Well, fishermen don’t see small white hake very often due to us using 6.5″ diamond cod ends. The fish are small and slimy they slide right out the meshes. Hell, a medium pollock can swim out the mesh’s and they are twice to three times the size of small hake. Besides the point is a regulatory community that has never asked anyone in the room anything about fishing, have never asked what we were seeing, nor our thoughts about any species. Please >click to read the rest here< 10:27
A Vision for My Polis
My “Vision for My Polis” is still fresh. Indeed, subsequent studies have revealed that my “Vision for My Polis,” with minor adaptations, would serve many other communities very well. That vision includes recommendations for physical developments that are (mostly) specific to Gloucester. The core of that vision, however, is concerned with social and economic relations that are of widespread interest. The core of that vision is concerned with the rejuvenation of the fishing industry in Gloucester. As current Mayor Greg Verga is fond of pointing out: The fishing industry is not dead, it is changing. This transformation would become more evident if we were to create a corporation to be named perhaps Gloucester Fish Inc. in accordance with principles of functional integration enunciated in “Fisheries Renewal: A Renewal of the Soul of Business.” >click to read< By Carmine Gorga, PhD 15:35
Facts About Wicked Tuna’s Dave Marciano You Won’t Have to Fish For
When selecting captains for the reality series “Wicked Tuna,” National Geographic definitely made a great choice with veteran seaman commercial fisherman Dave Marciano. Ever since he was a young boy, the fisherman has spent so much of his life at sea that it became a fundamental part of his identity long ago. It would be foolish to think that Marciano’s life hadn’t changed dramatically since the show premiered in 2012, but deep down, it really seems like the captain has remained the same devoted and incredibly hard-working individual he always has been, and its those qualities that make his such a relatable personality on that show that many audience members cannot help but root for. His fascinating past has made him the man he is today and here are the pivotal aspects of that journey leading to reality stardom. Photos, >click to read< 14:14
LETTER: Boycott of lobster won’t save whales
This is a response to the stories “Retailers pull lobster from menus after ‘red list’ warning”, and “Congressman wants to halt aquarium money after lobster spat”. In all my life I never heard of such a ridiculous way to save the whales — Seafood Watch adding lobster to its “red list” of seafood to avoid. These people are nuts. How are we going to save whales by asking restaurants to take lobsters off their menu? >click to read< By Sam Parisi 10:10
Fishing regulators shoot down scallop leasing plan
In a ballroom overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the council regulating New England’s fisheries rejected a controversial proposal on Tuesday to develop a leasing program in the region’s lucrative scallop fishery after failing to agree on the presented motions. The New England Fishery Management Council deliberated on three motions for more than two hours, with all three failing. The latest leasing push comes 12 years after a proposal to allow it was defeated in a close 9-to-7 council vote, with one member abstaining. New Bedford fishermen and permit owners were at the hotel hours before the council took up the leasing issue. The opposition has been largely centralized in the city, driven by the crew and some vessel owners who fear leasing is the first step toward further consolidation. Photos, >click to read< 07:40
Group that claims catching lobsters is harmful to whales draws sharp rebuke in Gloucester
Nothing says “Massachusetts, or really “New England”, like a lobster. But our iconic crustacean just got a failing grade from an environmental group. The Seafood Watch Project, which operates out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, put lobster on their red list. This is devastating news at Cape Ann Lobstermen, a Gloucester facility that processes up to 40,000 pounds of locally caught lobster a day. “The lobster industry is probably the biggest fishing industry left in this area,” said company president Tessa Browne. “There’s probably 150+ boats in this harbor that come and go on a daily basis who have 1-2 crewmen who support their families.” “We’re being unfairly targeted when the main culprit is ship strikes,” said lobsterman Richard Black. Video, >click to read< 14:00
Cape Seafoods nets nearly $500K to grow and diversify
The company has received a $395,542 loan from the CARES Act Revolving Loan Fund and an $86,458 equipment loan from MassDevelopment, the agency said in a prepared statement. Cape Seafoods’ sprawling Atlantic mackerel and herring processing plant, cold storage facility and wholesale bait shop dominate much of the Everett R. Jodrey State Fish Pier where Western Sea Fishing’s midwater trawlers FV Endeavour and FV Challenger are tied up. Western Sea Fishing is Cape Seafoods’ fishing partner. With the funding, MassDevelopment said Cape Seafoods plans to create an additional eight full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs over the next three years. The company will use the funding to build and equip a new seafood processing room enabling it to process groundfish such as flounder, hake, halibut, and cod. >click to read< 10:37
NTSB Reiterates Call for Mandatory Personal Locator Beacons Following Investigation Into F/V Emmy Rose Sinking
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is reiterating calls for a personal locator beacon requirement following its investigation into the 2020 sinking of the F/V Emmy Rose that claimed the lives of four crew members off of Cape Cod. NTSB also reiterated an earlier safety recommendation to the Coast Guard to require all vessel personnel be provided with a personal locator beacon (PLB). NTSB issued that recommendation following the sinking of the cargo vessel El Faro in 2015 in which all 33 crewmembers perished. NTSB also reiterated the recommendation after the fishing vessel F/V Scandies Rose sank off Sutwik Island, Alaska, in 2019. Two of the vessel’s crewmembers were rescued; the other five were never found. >click to read< 10:37
Loose Hatch Cover May Have Caused the Loss of the F/V Emmy Rose
The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that the capsizing of the fishing vessel F/V Emmy Rose, which went down with all hands off Massachusetts in late 2020, was likely due to an unsecured hatch cover on its lazarette, which could have allowed rapid flooding when water accumulated on deck. In the early hours of November 23, 2020, The Emmy Rose was under way off Provincetown, Massachusetts with about 50,000 pounds of fish in her holds. She was headed to Gloucester, with winds of 20 knots and following seas of about six feet in height. >click to read< 21:18
My View – Back to proven port basics
The future of our 399-year-old port community, our ocean-centric culture, is bring maltreated by astonishing contradictions, some plain self-serving against the good of our community, others just embarrassingly incoherent. There are folks who will claim that fishing is “near the end” with “not enough biomass,” with some fishers even declaring near tears that “we are the last generation,” while the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology offers science that lucrative fish species are actually dying of old age in the fertile Atlantic, as the industry remains without advanced catch technology to very selectively harvest only those species in ample abundance. >click to read< 07:52
“I once was lost, but now am found” – Burial site of long-dead fisherman found by kin
In 1915, Eben Devine was reported missing by fellow crewmen from the schooner Hattie A. Heckman. Ten days later his body was seen floating in Gloucester Harbor by George Bailey, keeper on Ten Pound Island, who rowed it ashore. Despite decomposition, Devine’s son Oscar identified the body, perhaps by his father’s coat and the spectacles in the pocket. The medical examiner ruled it a death by accidental drowning, but a darker story has always lingered in Devine family lore: Eben Devine, known to be a drinker, was followed from a bar on the October night of his disappearance by two men with whom he’d had an altercation. >click to read< 09:15
‘It’s all about the people’ Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante said about her run
She’s a Gloucester native. Her parents came from immigrant families. She’s the only child of her father, Joseph, who worked as a fisherman until an injury forced him out of the job, and her mother, Frances, who worked in the schools’ libraries. She has her supporters. Helene Nicholson, “I think she brings the things to Gloucester like the waterfront and she works well with other candidates even though Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr is a Republican, you know, she works well across the aisles, which I like, and she’s a fair player. She’s honest.” Her father’s injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In 1994, a few months after his accident, the fishing vessel F/V Italian Gold sank. “That’s the boat my father would have been on. All four men were lost at sea,” Ferrante said. Her father asked her to promise him she would help those crew members’ families. >click to read< 12:14
Saturday service to remember those lost at sea
The annual Fishermen’s Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial on Stacey Boulevard. Joe Parisi, a member of the Fishermen’s Memorial Service committee who will serve as the master of ceremonies, said the keynote speaker this year will be Peter Sinagra, the son of Capt. Carlo Sinagra, owner of the fishing vessel F/V Alligator, which was lost at sea in the fall of 1978. On Thursday, Sept. 28, 1978, Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard planes searched from Gloucester to Nova Scotia for the 52-foot Gloucester fishing vessel after the Alligator and its crew of three were reported overdue and failed to return as scheduled from what was to be a two-day trip to Seal Island, Nova Scotia. >click to read< 07:50
Candidates for governor, AG, tackle fishing industry concerns
Representatives of the Gloucester fishing industry caught the ears of Democratic candidate for governor Attorney General Maura Healey, and a Democratic candidate for attorney general, Andrea Campbell, during a meeting at the Gloucester House Restaurant on Rogers Street around noon before a campaign canvass kickoff. The pair heard concerns about the high cost of fuel and offshore wind, among others. “The price of fuel is killing us right now,” said fisherman Joe Orlando, president of Northeast Fishery Sector II. “I can’t even imagine. How much does it cost?” Healey asked. Orlando said the cost went from $2,000 to $6,000. Healey said it is important for the state to support the fishing industry economically, culturally and historically. >click to read< 10:38
