Groundfishing has historically employed large numbers in good jobs. The romance of the deep-sea pursuit of fin fish is embedded in a region where its most famous cape is named after its most famous fish, the cod. People don't want that way of life to become just a memory.

A recent analysis indicates how densely the Northeast industry has consolidated around the major remaining ports.

The study by Cap Log Group Inc. and funded in part by the Environmental Defense Fund indicates that 31 million pounds of the 38 million pounds of groundfish caught in 2007 in Massachusetts, or 82 percent, were landed by vessels from either New Bedford, Gloucester or Boston.

Meanwhile, federal statistics show groundfishing has withered or vanished in numerous small and mid-sized ports in the last 30 years.

Read the complete story from The Tribune.