The seaport that could slip away
Fans of Mark Kurlansky鈥檚 previous bestsellers, 鈥淐od,鈥� 鈥淪alt,鈥� and 鈥淭he Big Oyster,鈥� are familiar with this author鈥檚 use of both recipes and historical lore to describe the fishing heritage of Gloucester, Mass.
His books also give a nod to nearby Rockport and other parts of Cape Ann, as well as to the area鈥檚 maritime painters, writers, and inventors, including Winslow Homer, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, T.S. Eliot, Charles Olson, and Clarence Birdseye (whose freezers put an end to drying salt cod).
You鈥檒l also find salt, cod, and even a few oysters in this new mix, but mostly The Last Fish Tale is the story of one fishing village and its struggle for identity and survival.
The history of Gloucester, first designated as a city in 1873, also expands to include 鈥淭he Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America鈥檚 Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town.鈥� That subtitle is quite a mouthful, even by big cod standards, and readers may feel as if they are being dragged 鈥� skittering and bouncing 鈥� over this vast ocean floor of a topic like a big trawler鈥檚 drag nets.
While Kurlansky鈥檚 practiced catch is always varied and interesting, in 鈥淭he Last Fish Tale鈥� it extends from the Grand Banks to the North Sea and the Mediterranean. It鈥檚 easy to feel a little battered by the sweeping approach, as Kurlansky goes for the broad overview. You may need to come up for air between chapters.
Kurlansky鈥檚 tale begins specifically enough with the dramatic (and often drunken) pole-walking event, part of the city鈥檚 annual St. Peter鈥檚 Fiesta, celebrated on the weekend closest to June 29. A Sicilian fisherman brought the custom to Gloucester in 1926, when he arrived with a statue of St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen, and of 鈥渟hipbuilders and net makers and also of stonemasons, bridge builders, cobblers, and locksmiths 鈥� a blue collar maritime saint, the perfect patron for Gloucester.鈥� The event continues today, along with the festival鈥檚 more solemn songs, blessings, and prayers for the fishermen.
Gloucester鈥檚 losses at sea may number 鈥渁s many as ten thousand鈥� according to 鈥渋ncomplete records [that] go back to 1623,鈥� says the author. A memorial 鈥� 鈥淭he Man at the Wheel鈥� sculpted by Leonard Craske 鈥� stands on the west side of Gloucester harbor to mark those losses. The inscription underneath is the beginning of Psalm 107: 23-24, 鈥淭hey that go down to the sea in ships....鈥� The fishermen鈥檚 families in the wider Gloucester area clearly know the rest by heart: 鈥渢hat do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.鈥� Kurlansky argues that these tragedies have helped to form Gloucester鈥檚 tightly knit community.
Seafood lovers will enjoy Kurlansky鈥檚 inclusion of recipes for Chouder (circa 1751), Skully-Jo Fish Bake, a lobster salad made with egg, mustard, and butter, an English crab soup, and a Bacalhao Sebolada which requires a pound and a half of salt cod, soaked overnight. Also 鈥渧ery Gloucester鈥� are linguica recipes from the Azores, Sicilian cannolis, and various Italian pastas. From another fishing community, called Mousehole, in southwestern England, there鈥檚 a 鈥渟tarry gazzy鈥� pie, originally made with pilchards (a local sardine), where the fish tails stick up through the center of the crust and the fish heads gaze out in a circle around the fluted edge.
Kurlansky鈥檚 biggest bite, however, is the history and evolution of the fishing industry, not just in Gloucester, but worldwide, and his overview on the nature of its survival or collapse. In telling the history of Gloucester, he travels extensively to the European fisheries that have already collapsed and others that seem on the verge of doing so, in order to make his forecasts.
He offers up the points of view of the fishermen and their families, the scientists, the various governments and their often ill-fated attempts at regulating the fisheries, and, to a lesser extent, the Realtors, yachtsmen, and artists that gather around the outskirts. He questions whether the fish stocks can return to a healthy level and whether Gloucester can survive with its fisheries and identity intact, or whether this hope may be the biggest fish tale of all.
It鈥檚 clear from the words of Gloucester鈥檚 own 1998 poet laureate, Vincent Ferrini, that 鈥渇or Gloucester to no longer be Gloucester鈥� would be 鈥渦nthinkable鈥� and it鈥檚 clear that Kurlansky finds it deeply and personally unthinkable, as well. This is a poignant and cautionary tale, with an end that has yet to be written.
Martha White is a freelance writer in Rockport, Maine.
