Interview with Mr. Dave Sargent, Retired Herring Warden and Shellfish Constable for the Town of Gloucester

Lenny Russo, 27 years old at the time of his interview, describes working as the relief captain of a fleet boat in Portland, ME, after growing up working on a family fishing boat in Gloucester MA. Lenny is also the owner-operator of a seasonal salmon gillnet vessel in Bristol Bay, AK. 

Scope and Content Note

Shawn Goulart, 35 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain and deckhand based in Gloucester, MA. Shawn got into recreational fishing as a hobby in his early teens, and then quickly transitioned to commercial fishing, at a time when opportunities were plentiful in Gloucester. Since that time, he has seen the local groundfish fleet shrink, forcing him to spend months away each year fishing out of other East Coast ports to support his two young daughters.

Tommy Testaverde, 34 years old at the time of the interview, is captain of his family's dragger, the F/V Midnight Sun, in Gloucester, MA.

Scope and Content Note

On December 16, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Mark Ring for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport project.  Mark Ring was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1957. He graduated from Manchester High School in 1975. Growing up, Mark's father ran a marina, and he had uncles who were commercial fishermen. He spent his teenage years fishing on a skiff and lobstering with his uncles. After high school, Mark moved to Gloucester and fished - gillnetting and swordfishing - during the 1970s and 1980s.

On January 29, 2020, Molly Graham interviewed Philip Powell for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport project.  Philip Powell was born on June 11, 1965, in Woburn, Massachusetts. His family moved to Swampscott, Massachusetts, where he currently resides. Powell's father, born in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1935, immigrated from Poland. His mother’s family came to the United States from Germany in 1941, settling in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Powell’s early life involved extensive outdoor activities, including family fishing trips and camping.

On October 9, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Tom Balf for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport oral history project. Tom Balf is an environmental professional with diverse experience in regulatory policy, environmental management, and sustainability in the corporate, consulting, and non-profit sectors. His current consulting work, as founder of Oceanvest, LLC, focuses on projects that support sustainable fishing communities, maritime technology applications, and 21st-century working waterfronts. He is the former executive director of Maritime Gloucester.

On August 28, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Anthony Gross for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport project. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 30, 1952, Gross moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts, at the age of three when his father accepted a position as general manager at Empire Fish Company. Gross's father, a butcher by trade, played a significant role in the Gloucester fishing community, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Dory Committee.

On October 16, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Ann Molloy for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport project. Ann Molloy, a native of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and a member of a longstanding Sicilian-American fishing family provides a rich account of her family’s deep roots in the community. Her grandparents immigrated from Sicily in the early 1900s, transitioning from small-scale Mediterranean fishing to becoming integral parts of Gloucester’s fishing industry.

Molly Graham interviewed Captain Salvatore ‘Sam’ Novello on August 2, 2019, for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport Oral History Project. Captain Novello was born in 1943 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he has lived all his life.