On September 30, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport Oral History Project. Sefatia Romeo Theken's grandparents immigrated to Gloucester in the 1940s.  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.

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.

Interview with Captains Sol Jacobs, John Chisholm and Joseph Smith of Gloucester, MA by William Wakeham and Richard Rathbun. Interview contains information on New England mackerel fishery.

Interview with fisherman Solomon A. Rowe 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.

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.

Interview with fisherman Thomas C. Parish 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.

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 August 23, 2019, Molly Graham interviewed Vito Giacalone for the Strengthening Community Resilience in America’s Oldest Seaport oral history project. Giacalone was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1959.  Vito is a third-generation fisherman in Gloucester and started in the fishing industry as a youth.  In the late 1980s, Giacalone took a break from fishing to work in construction until he came back to commercial fishing in 2000.

Interview with fisherman W.G. Pool of Gloucester, MA by members of the U.S. Fish Commission. Interview contains descriptions of the mackerel fishery.

Interview with fisherman William H. Greenleaf 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.