BOSTON — August 9, 2012 — This town’s last national burst of buzz came from the movie version of “The Perfect Storm,” in which desperate fishermen going farther and farther out in search of dwindling stocks of swordfish were swept into the abyss by a hurricane. You may soon hear about Gloucester again, as visionary leaders chart out what they hope is a perfect scenario of renewal. There are still hundreds of working fishermen here, but officials now talk of Gloucester becoming a cluster for a much broader “marine economy.” Picture an aquatic Silicon Valley — a center of research on the “wired ocean” and a workshop for entrepreneurs developing products based on discoveries from the deep.
“This is what’s happening to the city, this is where we’re going,” vows Mayor Carolyn Kirk. “Come hell or high water, we’re going there.”
Touring the city this week, there was ample evidence that Gloucester can build on its seafaring heritage, even as it seeks to develop economic niches beyond fishing.
Many coastal cities in New England have turned to tourism as their fishing industries have shrunk. Last month, Gloucester opened a new HarborWalk to introduce visitors to the town’s history. Yet it won’t be a Disneyland; the town wants to maintain a working waterfront — one where innovative research occurs along with traditional fishing.
In Hodgkins Cove, the University of Massachusetts has revived a pelagic fish research station to track the travels of tuna, swordfish, and turtles, creatures that travel hundreds and thousands of miles, facing many overfishing and habitat threats along the way. Meanwhile, the whale-researching organization Ocean Alliance has moved its offices from landlocked Lincoln down to the water’s edge — to the site of a defunct company that once pioneered copper paint to keep barnacles and worms from attaching to ship hulls. The group’s research vessel has been used to study the effect of the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill on whales.
Other sites in Gloucester hint at more commercial possibilities. In a quiet inland office park was a company called Proteus, which specializes in a process for frozen fried fish and chicken that keeps moisture from escaping while preventing grease from soaking the meat during frying, thus creating lower-fat foods.
Read the full story at the Boston Globe.