Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Sunken Gloucester fishing boat: How to support the families of the 7 crew members

February 3, 2026 — As the North Shore and New England fishing communities mourn the loss of the seven crew members of a Gloucester fishing boat that sank off the coast of Cape Ann on Friday, fundraisers are collecting money for the families of the crew.

The U.S. Coast Guard began searching for a 72-foot fishing vessel known as the “Lily Jean” Friday morning after receiving a signal from an emergency position-indicating beacon, the Coast Guard said previously. By Friday evening, searchers had discovered a debris field near the signal’s reported location and recovered one of the crew members’ bodies.

After searching nearly 1,050 square miles over the course of a day, the Coast Guard suspended its search Saturday morning. The Lily Jean was returning to Gloucester after a fishing trip when it sank.

It is unclear what caused the sinking of the Lily Jean, but on Monday, the Coast Guard announced it would be conducting “a district-level formal investigation” into the incident. The Coast Guard also officially identified the fishing vessel’s crew members.

The crew members have been identified as:

  • Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo, captain
  • Paul Beal Sr., crew
  • Paul Beal Jr., crew
  • John Rousanidis, crew
  • Freeman Short, crew
  • Sean Therrien, crew
  • Jada Samitt, NOAA fisheries observer and crew

Those looking to offer support to the families of all the crew members should donate to a local non-profit called Fishing Partnership Support Services, Gloucester State Sen. Bruce Tarr, a Republican, recommended Monday.

Read the full article at MassLive

Victims of sunken Gloucester fishing vessel the Lily Jean remembered at memorial service, “It’s just a hard life”

February 2, 2026 — Two days after seven crew members of the fishing boat the Lily Jean were lost at sea off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts the community came together for a memorial Mass.

It was an emotional scene Sunday at Saint Ann Church in Gloucester, and it was cathartic the way this community is coming together for one another.

“Things can change quickly. It’s just a hard life. I got out years ago so I could see my kids grow,” said retired fisherman Domenic Dimaio. He went to school with the captain of the Lily Jean.

“I just, I don’t know. I am in shock,” he added.

Al Cottone was also at the memorial. The fisherman knew the captain most of his life. Their fathers grew up together in Sicily.

Read the full article at CBS News

MASSACHUSETTS: New state regulation allows easier cleanup of ‘ghost’ fishing gear

February 2, 2026 — For decades, environmental advocates and fishermen have found themselves in a bind.

Private property rights over fishing gear made it impossible for communities to clean up rope, lines, and equipment that had been abandoned in the open ocean — even as the gear piled up, snaring endangered wildlife and forming floating islands of synthetic fibers.

Starting Jan. 30, however, new state regulations from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) allow local communities to clean up marine fishing gear debris freely, the first step to eliminating what advocates call the “ghost gear” floating in New England’s waters.

Prior to the new rule, fishermen retained ownership rights of all fishing gear still in the water, regardless of its condition or how long it had been left to sea. Any attempt to interfere with or remove that gear by someone outside of DMF or the state environmental police constituted a rights violation. Volunteers and municipalities, meanwhile, could only remove debris that had washed ashore with state agencies’ permission — debris that still piles up by the tons on Massachusetts’ coastlines.

It’s a small change with a whale-sized impact, advocates say, and not a moment too soon. On Jan. 27, researchers found the first recorded North Atlantic right whale death of the year, a four-year-old male that had been fatally injured after getting entangled in fishing gear.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Tragedy off America’s oldest seaport claims 7 lives as fishing boat sinks in frigid waters

February 2, 2026 — The seven victims of a marine disaster that devastated a storied Massachusetts fishing town included a fifth-generation fisherman, a young federal fisheries observer and a father-and-son crew duo. All died when their fishing boat, the Lily Jean, sank in waters off America’s oldest seaport.

The sinking underscored the risks long inherent in Gloucester’s fishing industry, which spans more than 400 years and was famously chronicled in “The Perfect Storm.” The names of the crew will be added to a city memorial honoring thousands of fishermen lost at sea over generations.

The 72-foot (22-meter) vessel was returning to port early Friday to repair fishing gear when it sank in frigid Atlantic waters. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it was launching a formal investigation into the sinking after suspending a search for survivors Saturday. It has not said what might have caused the sinking, though it said ice buildup from freezing ocean spray can cause a boat to capsize.

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

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Dominion Energy and Vineyard Wind Reach Milestones as Work Resumes

February 2, 2026 — Within days of resuming work at Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project and Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1, both projects have marked key milestones. The projects argued they were at critical stages of construction in court and received preliminary injunctions to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing a stop-work order.

Dominion Energy provided a detailed update on the status of its project, reporting it has reached 71 percent completion and, critically, the first wind turbine generation was installed in January. The company’s massive wind turbine installation vessel, Charybdis (the only U.S.-flagged WTIV vessel), also began loading in December after a lengthy commissioning process and is deployed for the installations.

The presentation outlines that the project remains on track to generate its first power this quarter. Although after the delays due to the stop-work order from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, they have rescheduled completion to early 2027.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Fundraisers collect money for families of sunken Gloucester fishing boat’s crew

February 2, 2026 — As the Gloucester community mourns the loss of the seven people who were aboard a fishing boat that sank Friday off the coast of Cape Ann, fundraisers are collecting money for the families of two of vessel’s crew members.

Remembering Sean Therrien

Peabody resident Sean Therrien, 45, was identified as one of the people aboard the 72-foot vessel known as the “Lily Jean” by his partner, Rebecca Carp, and in a GoFundMe campaign. In a Friday Facebook post, Carp said she was heartbroken, and that she and Therrien had been together for 22 years.

“He was my best friend and love of my life,” she wrote.

Therrien was a Lynn native who graduated from Lynn Technical High School, according to the GoFundMe campaign. When he wasn’t working, he loved riding dirt bikes, four-wheeling, building and racing RC cars and spending time with his sons, 23-year-old Justin and 17-year-old Tyler.

“He was a hardworking family man whose life revolved around the people he loved most,” the campaign page reads. “ … Those who knew Sean will remember his great sense of humor, his generous heart, and the pride he took in providing for his family.”

In addition to his partner and sons, Therrien leaves behind his father, brother, two sisters and many other beloved family members and friends, according to the campaign. The GoFundMe campaign had raised just over $7,000 of its $9,000 goal as of Sunday afternoon.

“This fundraiser has been created to support Rebecca and Sean’s family as they face the unimaginable — helping with funeral arrangements, household needs, and the financial challenges that follow such a sudden loss,“ the campaign page reads. ”More than anything, it is meant to honor Sean’s life and surround his loved ones with the care and compassion he so freely gave to others.”

Read the full article at MassLive

NOAA observer identified among victims of missing Gloucester fishing vessel

February 2, 2026 — The close-knit community of Gloucester came together Sunday, mourning the crew of the fishing vessel Lily Jean lost at sea in a tragic accident Friday, as shaken visitors piled flowers at the city’s iconic Fisherman’s Memorial and families huddled inside a stone church.

By the late afternoon, hundreds attended a memorial mass for those aboard the Lily Jean at St. Ann’s Church. At the beginning of the mass, the families of the vessel’s seven crew members lit candles in front of framed pictures of their lost loved ones.

“When we hurt, when we grieve, when we are in pain, we come together,” Rev. James Achadinha said during the somber service.

The full identities of the Lily Jean’s crew have not been shared officially. Coast Guard officials said over the weekend they estimated releasing the information Monday following family notifications.

But one of the crew has been identified by her family as 22-year-old federal fisheries observer Jada Samitt.

Samitt was on the Lily Jean about 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann when the ship sank on Friday. The Coast Guard found debris and one body in the water. The Coast Guard looked for survivors for 24-hours before calling off the search Saturday during frigid winter conditions with seven-to-ten foot waves and 30-knot-winds.

Samitt had been on board as an observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries.

Read the full article at The Boston Herald

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guard identifies all 7 crew members of fishing boat that sank of Gloucester coast

February 2, 2026 — The Coast Guard has officially identified all seven crew members who were aboard a fishing boat when it sank off the coast of Gloucester on Friday.

The seven crew members were:

  • Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo, captain
  • Paul Beal Sr., crew
  • Paul Beal Jr., crew
  • John Rousanidis, crew
  • Freeman Short, crew
  • Sean Therrien, crew
  • Jada Samitt, NOAA fisheries observer and crew
As of Sunday afternoon, family and friends of nearly all of the crew members had come forward to identify them.