Customer Reviews
The most misleading title which I have ever come across - By: Marcus Lichtenstein, 05 Aug 2008 
I am fascinated by the story of the vanishing fish stocks of the Atlantic & so bought this book with enthusiasm. So I couldn't have been more disappointed: this book is a history of an American coastal town, only part of which has to do with fishing. In effect it's a provincial American history with no real interest outside that particular area of the States. It must have panicked the british publishers on delivery - you can imagine them going: Christ, how on earth do we sell thisin Europe? - into sticking this completely misleading title on it. It's almost worth contacting the Trade misDescriptions people. Caveat emptor
"From the beginning they saw fish as limitless...The only obstacles to catching more were the limitations of technology." - By: Mary Whipple, 02 Aug 2008 
Walking the fine line between those who want to preserve the renowned fishing industry of Gloucester, Massachusetts, long into the future & those who see that industry as already nearly dead, NY Times reporter Mark Kurlansky examines the history of the community, its ties to the sea, & its very uncertain economic future. At the same time, he also worries about the future of the Atlantic Ocean itself as a resource, one now so endangered that unless the federal government institutes "overall eco-system management," & not just quotas on specific catches, it will soon die. The government has wasted too much time on short-term "remedies," he believes, & has done no comprehensive long-term planning for the eco-system on which the industry depends. Ultimately, the "scientists" responsible for the health of our ocean have made too many mistakes, & fishermenin Gloucester & elsewhere are paying the price.
Kurlansky describes Gloucester from its earliest discoveries by the Vikings to its first settlements, emphasizing its colonial fishing industry, a timein which people would routinely catch cod that were four or five feet long & halibut weighing 200 - 400 pounds. Between colonial times & 1991, when the unexpected The Perfect Storm struck, the city has lost six thousand Gloucester fishermen & many hundreds of vessels at sea, yet the fishing industry persists. The evolution of large trawlers & draggers, & the arrival of mammoth ships from Japan & Russia to fish just offshore, led the local industry to try to protect itself by getting exclusive fishing zones & the two-hundred mile limit established, but "[continued] stern dragging has endangered two-thirds of the world's fish stocks," & the prospects for the future look bleak.
Waves of Jewish, Sicilian, & Portuguese immigrants have kept the city socially vibrant, & the fishing boats filled with willing workers. Their cultural contributions & festivals, especially St. Peter's Fiestain July, describedin detail here, are part of the fabric of society & a fully-attended joy for the entire community. The city also has a long history as an art colony, with Fitz Hugh (Henry) Lane, Winslow Homer, William Morris Hunt, Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, Emile Gruppe, & even Edward Hopper taking advantage of the special light reflected off the sea to give luminosity to their paintings. T. S. Eliot vacationedin Gloucester, Rudyard Kipling wrote Captains Courageous while livingin Gloucester, & NY playwright Israel Horovitz has produced his playsin Gloucester for almost forty years.
Still, the community sees itself almost exclusively as a fishing port & wants to remain one. In the 1980s, the fishing community convinced the city to zone the entire waterfront for commercial maritime activities only. "Someday fishing will improve," they believe, & then they will have the land they need to expand. "Otherwise it will turn into Newport." With these zoning regulationsin place, there's no possibility that that will happen or that tourism will become an industry to fill the economic gap left by the decimated fishing industry. There are no docking facilities for pleasure boats, & the extensive waterfront is a weedy wasteland with no new building & no hotel. In 2008, the battle continues to rage between the "preservationists" who want to preserve the fishing industry & its control of the waterfront & those who believe that a mixture of uses might better serve both the community & the economy. So far the fishermen are hanging tough, hoping for a renewal of their fishing stocks. Mary Whipple
