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.

Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken's grandparents immigrated to Gloucester in the 1940's.  Many of her relatives worked in the fishing industry in Gloucester.  Mayor Romeo Theken was married to a commercial fisherman and worked as a fish packer at Gorton's and later for the Addison Gilbert Hospital.  After her husband died, she began to get more involved in the Gloucester community and advocating for fishers.  She became vice president of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association.  Mayor Romeo Theken also earned a B.A.

Sebastian Parisi was born in 1940 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Both sides of Parisi's family emigrated from Italy, and many of his ancestors and relatives worked in the fishing industry.  He graduated from Gloucester High School, worked as a mechanic for cars and diesel boats.   Parisi served as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force from 1960 to 1964. Later, he earned a teacher's certificate and taught at vocational schools for over twenty years.   

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Biographical Note:
Sarah Garcia is Community Development Director and Harbor Planning Director for the City of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Captain Novello was born in 1943 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he has lived all his life. Son of Captain Joseph Novello and Lena (Parisi) Novello, Sam is the last descendant of the Novello and Parisi fishing families who still earns his living as a fisherman.  As a child, Sam went to sea with his father, uncles, and cousins – over one hundred family members - on their fleet of eight wooden fishing vessels.

Russell Sherman, 64, lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts and has been fishing for over 40 years and came to Cape Ann during his summer breaks from Harvard University where he was studying History. He got his first boat in 1980 and maintains that active participation in fisheries management is very important. He has attended meetings at the state and federal Council level for years until recently when his stress and frustration with the management process overpowered his decision to attend meetings.

Interview with fisherman Russell D. Terry of Gloucester, MA by William Wakeham and Hugh M. Smith of the U.S. Fish Commission. Interview contains descriptions of the mackerel fishery.

Rosalie Parco was born in 1926 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Both sides of her family immigrated from Sicily, and included many fishermen. She graduated from Gloucester High School in 1944, and attended Kathleen Dell Secretarial School in Boston.  Then she met her husband, Anthony Parco, founder of Ocean Crest Seafoods and Neptune's Harvest Fertilizer in Gloucester, a family business that is still in operation today.  

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Phil Powell was born in 1965 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  His family moved to Swampscott shortly after he was born.  He grew up and still lives in Swampscott. In high school, Phil started to work as a fisherman with some local fishermen.  When he was nineteen years old, Phil bought his first boat.  He has been gillnetting and lobstering off and on since then.

Interview with fisherman Nelson Cantillo of Gloucester, MA by William Wakeham, Richard Rathbun and Hugh M. Smith of the U.S. Fish Commission. Interview contains descriptions of the mackerel fishery.