The following numbers compiled by the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training give the essential picture of the status of commercial fishing in Gloucester in 1993. We will bring this status report up-to-date in the Final Report:

The direct effect of commercial fishing over the total economy was 3.99% in relation to employment and 3.3% in relation to wages. Since commercial fishing is a primary activity, its indirect influence upon the economy is over three times its base line, namely somewhere between 10% and 15%. (A few decades ago it still was more than 50%.)

In addition to the existence of theoretical studies, there are two other methods to confirm the general validity of this assessment of the indirect importance of the fisheries on the Gloucester economy. The first resides in the nature of the practice followed for the division of profits in the fisheries: half of the return goes to the crew and half goes to the owner of the fishing vessel to cover many of the expenses of the "trip." Thus one can almost automatically double the values concerning the direct influence of the fishing industry over employment and wages. The second method follows this line of reasoning. A segment of nearly all activities are influenced by the existence of the fishing industry. Yet, rather than taking all activities, this influence is calculated in a gross manner. One can consider only those activities that more directly relate to fishing. These activities are especially "Food and Kindred Products" and "Wholesale Trade (Non-Durable Goods)." These activities are not wholly related to fresh fish; but the balance is made up by those activities that are influenced by fishing and are not taken into consideration in this estimate. The raw data are as follows:

To repeat, not all "Food and Kindred Products" nor the entire category of "Wholesale Trade (Non-Durable Goods)" depend upon the fishing industry, but enough of them do. And of course other activities do depend on it, and are not calculated. Those two categories, in brief, can stand as a proxy for the indirect effect of the fishing industry over the total economy. Summing up the figure for average employment and total wages, one obtains respectively: 1,542 and $50,067,365. The indirect influence of fishing upon the local economy can thus be estimated to be in the order of 15% of total employment, and 19% of total wages.

The above numbers confirm the general impression that the seafood industry in Gloucester is in a state of near total disorganization and despair. The fishing effort on commercial species is being drastically curtailed by the Federal Government in order to increase their stocks in the long run. Seafood plants that have traditionally confined their activities to fish filleting, due to the decreased catch, are closing their gates. Wharf space that is left vacant for a number of years naturally invites aspirations in the soul of real estate developers to create there condominiums, motels, and retail outlets. If these aspirations become a reality, the soul of Gloucester -- a 370 year-old fishing port, the oldest fishing port in the United States -- will be inalterably changed.

It is now whispered that, since the importance of fishing has gradually been so reduced from the splendor of the past as to account directly for approximately only 5% of the local economy, it is already too late to be concerned with the soul of Gloucester. One can almost hear the classic rejoinder: let us relegate this old industry to the dust bin of history; let us devote all our energies to the shining new industries of the future -- among which in truth the most talked about are tourism and the service industries.

The first general consideration is this. Since fish, as Carmine Gorga and Louis J. Ronsivalli pointed out in a book on Quality Assurance of Seafood (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988), is a quasi-vital food, the demand for fish is destined to grow -- not to disappear. Seafood will either be produced nationally or it will be imported. Fish in fact has consistently been one of the top ten on the list of imported items for the last few decades.

The second general consideration is this. In August 1994 the unemployment rate in Gloucester was 10.5%. (This is a percentage of the local labor force, whether covered or not by unemployment insurance.) In August, August not January, about 1,500 people were searching in vain for work. Multiplying this figure by the average number of dependents, the harsh reality is that 4,500 people were in rather strait needs.

Anyone can draw conclusions. But the basic questions to answer are these. How are we going to satisfy those health and employment needs? How are we going to create 1,500 jobs? Where are the opportunities for Gloucester, if not within the broad range of maritime activities? In Gloucester, which other industry has the same potential for growth? Ultimately, are not tourism and the service industries in Gloucester dependent upon the attraction of the fishing fleet?

The essence of the many issues involved here is very clearly caught by Lena Novello, the first president of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association. She proudly quotes her father saying that "Boats build houses, Houses do not build boats."

This quote can be rephrased in many different ways: capital goods pay for consumer goods, consumer goods do not pay for capital goods; or, save first, spend later; or, produce first, consume later. The essence of the issues is something like this: Do we want to be a nation of producers or a nation of consumers? Do we want to utilize our resources fully, or do we want to exploit other people's resources? How long will other people have patience with us? The history of empires is writ large.