August 11, 2016 — Angela Sanfilippo, who comes from seven generations of commercial fishermen and is a tireless advocate for fishermen in Gloucester and throughout Massachusetts, says fishing is “in her blood.”
“I grew up near the water, in a little village in Sicily [Italy]. Fishing was the whole town’s [livelihood],” Sanfilippo said.
Sanfilippo, 66, has come a long way since then. At the Boston Seafood Festival on 7 August, the Boston Fisheries Foundation announced that it was inducting Sanfilippo into the Boston Seafood Hall of Fame because of her work as a “tireless protector of the oceans and the fishing communities” in Gloucester and other areas.
Sanfilippo has served as president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association (GFWA) for 39 years, and is also executive director of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership and director of Support Services for the Fishing Partnership Support Services Organization. She also serves as a board member for several commercial fishing organizations.
One of Sanfilippo’s many accomplishments was getting Stellwagen Bank to be declared a Marine Sanctuary.
“She taught that marine sanctuaries can still be an active fishing area, within a specific rule set, as opposed to being a museum where you can look but not touch,” said Richard Stavis, CEO of Stavis Seafoods in Boston. “It really opened people’s eyes to the value of a marine sanctuary.”
Sanfilippo also worked tirelessly to stop oil drilling on Georges Bank, as well as ocean dumping and sand and gravel mining on Stellwagen Bank.