Our View: Gloucester Strong

Soon, the famed Fishermen’s Memorial on Gloucester’s waterfront will enshrine seven more names. And we know, when one fishing community grieves, fishing families everywhere feel the loss. 

 It won’t be known for some time, if ever, what caused the dragger Lily Jean to go down with all hands last week. But if it can happen to a stout, 72-foot steel fishing vessel — one that was, by many accounts, well maintained and expertly skippered — it can happen anywhere. Tragically, the vessel was on its way back to port with a hold full of fish, just 25 miles offshore when the unthinkable happened.

 Today’s fishing boats have modern navigational equipment, top-notch communication gear, emergency radio beacons, life rafts and survival suits. But shipboard emergencies can happen in a flash, and there’s simply no way to eliminate the danger of one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. It’s a reminder for our fishermen to remain vigilant, and a reminder to those of us on shore that fishermen risk their lives daily to put food on our tables.

 We thank the Coast Guard for searching valiantly for the crew, and know their hearts ache too.

 Gloucester grieves for Capt. “Gus” Sanfilippo; his crew, the father-and-son team of Paul Beal, Sr. and Paul Jr., John Rousandis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien; and 22-year-old NOAA fisheries observer Jada Samitt, a budding marine biologist.

We share their grief.