Fishing boat sinks off America's oldest seaport, claiming seven lives

The seven victims of a marine tragedy that has devastated a storied Massachusetts fishing town included a fifth-generation fisherman, a young federal fisheries observer on her first job at sea and a father-and-son crew duo who all died when their fishing boat, the Lily Jean, sank off America's oldest seaport of Gloucester.

The sinking is only the latest tragedy to befall Gloucester's close-knit fishing community. The perils of the industry that inspired the book and movie The Perfect Storm is tied to 400 years of history and, at times, tragedy.

A veteran Gloucester fishman, Al Cottone, noted at a news briefing today that everyone involved in the industry is well aware of the dangers — and of the lives lost down through generations of fishing families.

“You fish in federal waters, you fish in a Gloucester boat, and you lose your life, you’re forever a Gloucester fisherman,” Cottone added somberly.

“This is the worst nightmare come true. It’s happened before and happened before. It’s not unique to this community. It’s a tragedy that is still fresh and this community will need a long time to heal,” he said.

US Coast Guard officials said today they have identified all seven victims who died when the commercial fishing boat sank without a mayday call in frigid Atlantic waters.

Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo was the vessel's captain, and the crew consisted of Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien, the Coast Guard said today in identifying the victims. Also aboard was Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard and NOAA said. No one survived.

Sanfilippo was well known in the community. The Lily Jean, Sanfilippo, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show Nor’Easter Men. The captain is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip for haddock, lobster and flounder.

“We loved each other,” Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said of his relationship with Sanfilippo. “He treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. To know the tragedy of this and to know the kind of character that Gus had, he’d be mortified to know that these lives were all lost.”

Giacalone said the Sanfillipo and Beal names were synonymous with local fishing in going back decades. He said Sanfillipo “followed in the footsteps of his dad" while the Beal family has built boats and includes a brother who is a;o a fisherman.

“Those two families are absolutely etched in centuries of these multiple generations of fishermen,” Giacalone said.

Paul Lundberg, Gloucester’s mayor, said the names of those on the Lily Jean would be added to a city memorial honouring thousands of fishermen who have been lost at sea over the years.

Everett Sawyer, 55, a childhood friend of Sanfilippo’s, said he has known 25 people who lost their lives. Cold winter conditions can complicate operations even for experienced sailors, Sawyer said.

“Things happen very quickly when you’re out on the ocean,” he said.

NOAA, meanwhile, issued a statement of condolences to the victims' families.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jada’s family, the families of the six fishermen, the NOAA observer community, and everyone affected,” NOAA said.

Samitt's family said the 22-year-old observer was undertaking her first job at sea as a fishery observer, a job in which she collected date from the vessel’s catch that is used for purposes including crafting government regulations.

Samitt’s family added that she was originally from Virginia and had a deep love of Gloucester’s fishing community.

“Jada was on the Lily Jean that day because of her strong belief in her work, not only as an observer, but as someone who knew her important role as a crew member. She ... conveyed to us how critical it was to protect the seas and fisheries,” the statement said.

The Coast Guard on Saturday (local time) suspended its search for the missing. The search-and-rescue mission was launched early Friday (local time) after the Coast Guard received an alert from the 22-metre vessel about 40 kilometres off the historic Cape Ann peninsula.

Officials said there was no mayday call from the Lily Jean as it headed home to Gloucester. Rather, the Coast Guard was notified by a beacon from the boat that alerts when it hits the water.

Searchers found a debris field near where the alert originated, along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the Coast Guard has said. Crews covered about 2,590 square kilometres using aircraft, cutters and small boats over 24 hours before the Coast Guard announced Saturday (local time) that all reasonable search efforts had been exhausted.

An investigation will hopefully yield more, the Coast Guard said today, adding in a statement that an investigating officer is beginning to collect "evidence and testimony using formal rules and procedures regarding a recent marine accident”.

Deep-sea fishing in New England can always be hazardous, but especially so in winter because of high waves, frigid temperatures and unpredictable weather. Commercial fishing is often cited as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

The Coast Guard’s Sector Boston commander, Jamie Frederick, has said icy temperatures and stormy conditions made finding survivors at night difficult, a task made even more daunting by a nor’easter approaching the East Coast over the weekend. Searchers dealt with 2- to 3-metre seas and freezing ocean spray, Frederick said.

At today's news briefing, Giacalone explained that crews still go out even in winter to press their livelihood.

“I’ve heard people say why do they go fishing in that weather? Why does the electric company folks go out in the middle of the a blizzard to turn the lights back on?" he said.