A dragger from Gloucester, Massachusetts that helped anchor a TV show about the perils of New England fishing is believed lost at sea.
The Coast Guard found the body Friday of the Lily Jean’s captain, Gus Sanfilippo, along with debris from the dragger, which disappeared off Gloucester.
The agency had received an emergency alert from the 72-foot vessel early Friday located about 25 miles off Cape Ann.
Seven people were believed aboard the boat, which fishes for cod, haddock and pollock.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday a fishery observer was among those on board the vessel when it apparently sank, according to the Associated Press.
Fishery observers are workers who collect data on board fishing boats for the government to use to formulate regulations.
The family of NOAA observer Jada Samitt, 22, identified her as one of the victims of the sinking.
The vessel, along with Sanfilippo and his crew, were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.”
Sanfilippo was described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, in the Georges Bank.
The crew was shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.
The three-hour documentary followed four draggers out of New England ports, including one from Portland, Maine.
“Gloucester, New Bedford and Portland are beacons in fishing history,” said the show’s publicity material from A&E Networks. “Today’s fishermen who venture into the North Atlantic compete to reel in the biggest catches and largest paychecks.
‘Nor’easter Men’ followed the lives of rival New England crews as they braved storms, cold and exhaustion to bring their catch to market.
Maine’s connection to Gloucester’s history as a legendary fishing port was recounted in the book and movie “The Perfect Storm,”which featured Linda Greenlaw of Isle Au Haut, Maine.
Greenlaw, the first female swordfishing captain from the east coast, raised in Topsham and Colby College grad, became famous when her working out of Gloucester was documented in Sebastian Junger’s book.
It recounts a 1991 storm that resulted in the Gloucester fishing boat Andrea Gail going down off the coast of Nova Scotia, and the loss of all six crew members.
Greenlaw had attempted to warn the Andrea Gail about an impending storm.
