FV My Grace, Gloucester
BEAUTIFUL FISH: GOOSE FISH -By Al Bezanson
MONKFISH; ANGLER; ALLMOUTH; MOLLIGUT; FISHING FROG ā¦ The first spine bears an irregular leaflike flap of skin at its tip, which plays an important role in the daily life of the goosefish as a lure for its prey ā¦ Weighing up to 50 pounds … The goosefish has often been cited for its remarkable appetite. We read, for instance, of one that had made a meal of 21 flounders and 1 dogfish, all of marketable size; of half a pailful of cunners, tomcod, and sea bass in another; of 75 herring in a third; and of one that had taken 7 wild ducks at one meal. In fact it is nothing unusual for one to contain at one time a mass of food half as heavy as the fish itself. And with its enormous mouth (one 3Ā½ feet long gapes about 9 inches horizontally and 8 inches vertically) it is able to swallow fish of almost its own size. Fulton, for instance, found a codling 23 inches long in a British goosefish of only 26 inches, while Field took a winter flounder almost as big as its captor from an American specimen. One that we once gaffed at the surface, on Nantucket Shoals, contained a haddock 31 inches long, weighing 12 pounds, while Captain Atwood long ago described seeing one attempting to swallow another as large as itself.
Importanceā
No regular commercial use has been made of the goosefish in America up to the present time. But it is an excellent food fish, white-meated, free of bones, and of pleasant flavor.
From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953.Ā Available free online courtesy of MBL/WHOIĀ http://www.gma.org/fogm/Lophius_americanus.htm
If you were a goosefish you would say the āimportanceā situation has taken a bad turn since 1953.Ā The 2002, third edition, of Fishes of the Gulf of Maine notes:Ā Total landings remained at a low level until the mid-1970s, increasing from a few hundred metric tons to around 6,000 mt in 1978.Ā Landings remained stable at between 8,000 and 10,000 mt until the late 1980s and then increased to a peak level of 26,800 mt in 1996.Ā Usually only the tails are landed.Ā There is also a lucrative market for goosefish livers.
In the 1960s the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Technological Lab on Emerson Avenue in Gloucester was involved in marketing support for goosefish (monkfish), then considered an underutilized species.Ā I worked there at that time and recall Julia Child and the Boston Globeās food editor, Dorothy Crandall visiting the lab and providing enthusiastic support.Ā Hereās a 1979 photo of Julia Child with a monkfish.Ā Ā https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/read/popdy/monkfish/
Al Bezanson
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Stripes
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Wednesday preview to the summer
On Wednesday it seemed like summer is right around the corner.Ā It does not take us New Englanders to get out and enjoy the sun and warmth.Ā Went over to Wingaersheek Beach and also Magnolia Beach and kids and adults were right back into the mode of beach time.Ā Feeling the sand on my feet was heavenly.
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Ocean Alliance and Art Haven Come together
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Ā Ā 
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Design of Mine… We are so excited for Northshore Magazine’s nomination for “Best New Women’s Boutique”. We would so appreciate your vote !!
Please vote here > http://voting.nshoremag.com/BONS-2018/gallery?category=1377783
Melissa Tarr owner and manager of Design of Mine
33 Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Call (978) 491-7495
Home of The Flutter Shawl
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Morning Glow
Wednesday mornings sunrise looked like it was going to be fogged out. So I decided to turn around and go to work when this happened. Shot from the truck handheld 
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day one and day two
What a difference a day makesā¦
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Hand and Hand on Stacy Boulevard
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Gloucester Smiles-840
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Nichole’s Picks 2/24 + 2/25
Pick #1:Ā Sugar Shack Saturdays at Appleton Farms
Morning Session: 10:00-11:30
Afternoon Session: 1:30-3:00
Spring is coming and the sap is running! Experience the time-honored tradition of maple sugaring with Sugar Shack Saturdays at Appleton Farms. Spend the morning with us and see how we turn sap into sweet syrup. Start by getting creative with some maple themed crafts in the Appleton Old House then get outside and explore our very own sugar shack! Learn how we tap our trees every spring, see the evaporator in action, and taste the freshly made syrup. Ā We will end back inside with a farm snack, including Appleton Farms cheese, apple slices, and homemade maple ice cream while we read a story about maple sugaring!
Recommended for ages 8 and under but everyone is welcome! Space is limited. Registration is by the family-Ā if you have 5 or more in your family, please register 2 families.Ā Crafts and snacks included and we want to have enough for all.
Register now:
Pick #2: Winter Wander on Peddocks Island
BUNDLE UP AND WANDER
February 24, 2018 – 11:30AM to 2:45 PM
Adults:Ā $20
Children: Over 3 years old: $15
Seniors: $15
READ MORE ABOUT PEDDOCKS ISLAND HERE
Experience an unforgettable winter day as you wander the trails in search of winter tracks and traces. Look, listen and learn as you discover hidden treasures of the island. Play in the snow (if the weather cooperates), join us for cocoa and gorp in our “winter lodge” or by the fire for s’mores on the beach. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own snowshoes, lunches, binoculars and cameras to enhance their day.
Pick #3:Ā Lego Maritime Festival at the USS Constitution
Let your imagination set sail this February School Vacation Week!
Inspired by the different ship designs on display inĀ Masters of Miniature, head to the USS Constitution Museums to build your own ship with LEGOĀ® and DUPLOĀ® Bricks! In the hands of a creative kid ā or kid at heart ā a pile of colorful bricks can become an aircraft carrier ā or USSĀ Constitution! The nautical fun continues with a āFloat Your Boatā LEGO Challenge, āPicture Yourselfā LEGO Selfie Masks, a scavenger hunt through ourĀ Masters of MiniatureĀ exhibit, and much more!
Is your family no longer playing with your LEGOĀ® and DUPLOĀ® Bricks?Ā Donate them to the Museum!
As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, please visit our friends at North Shore Kid
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One Big Dreamcatcher
Somebody’s been busy on Plum Cove Beach.Ā I guess this could be another dreamcatcher.
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Topside this Saturday the 24th The man, the myth the legend Antoine will be making a guest appearance behind the bar
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2018 Economic Outlook Breakfast
The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Economic Outlook Breakfast on Thursday, March 1, at the Gloucester House Restaurant, 63 Rogers Street, Gloucester. Check-in and breakfast will start at 7:30 AM and the program will begin at 8:00 AM. CLICK HERE to register.
This year the Chamber welcomes President and CEO of Gortonās Judson Reis as keynote speaker.Ā Judsonās timely presentation will offer an overview of Gortonās current business after nearly 170 years here in Gloucester. He will also offer his insights on the state of the seafood industry domestically and internationally, how the industry has evolved and how Gortonās is adapting to these changes.Ā Mr. Reis will also give his perspective and insights on the overall economic outlook for the year ahead.
(Judson Reis, President and CEO of Gortonās)
Jud Reis joined Gortonās in 1990 as a Marketing Assistant.Ā During his 28 year career atā¦
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The Rose Baker February/March Artists
Juni Van Dyke, Director of the Art Program at the Rose Baker Senior Center, recently announced the Artists of the Month for February and March. Every two months artists from the program are honored with an exhibit of their works in the lobby of the Senior Center. The public is encouraged to stop by the Center between 9am and 4pm any weekday to see the work of these accomplished artists.
For February and March, Juni has selected two artists who have been honored before: Ed Leavitt and Bob Quinn. It is fun to see how the work of these artists has evolved in just a short time. The artists are shown below: Ed (l) and Bob (r) in front of the exhibit.
Ed Leavitt is being honored for the third time as an artist of the month; he was one of the artists honored in the first exhibit when heā¦
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Just Got This Airfryer. Total Gamechanger. 15 Minute Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Here’s the link to purchase –
Brio Digital Air Fryer (6 qt. Air Fryer, Black)
We’ve got about fifteen different recipes we want to do. So easy, so quick. Little to no oil and crispy delicious results. So quick and easy. Total Gamechanger!
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HOW CAN THE BEATING WINGS OF A SNOWY OWL BE QUIETER THAN A BUTTERFLY’S WING BEATS? – By Kim Smith
Snowy Owl Hedwig Preparing for Take-off
Several times Hedwig has flown so close that I can feel the swooshing wind around her, but I wondered, why her wingbeats are virtually soundless. I have audio recordings of comparatively tiny Monarchs, whose wingbeats are a thousand times louder than that of Hedwig’s wingbeats.
Snowy Owls, like all owls, have evolved with specially designed wings that enable them to fly soundlessly, a necessary feature for stealth hunting of small mammals such as mice, lemmings, voles, shrews, and rats. Their wings are disproportionately large to their body mass, which allows for slow flying, as slowly as two miles per hour, a sort of glide-flying, with very little flapping needed.
Additionally, comb-like serrations on the leading edge of an owl’s wingtips break up the air that typically makes a swooshing sound, creating a silencer effect. And, too, the streams of air are softened by a velvety texture unique to owl’s wings and because of the feathery combs of the wing’s trailing edge (see illustration below).
Close-up images of a Great Horned Owl’s wing. On the left, you can see the leading-edge comb; it’s this width that Le Piane measured for her study. On the right, the trailing-edge fringe. Diagram: Krista Le Piane.
Image of a Great Horned Owl’s wings from Mass Audbon. READ MORE HERE.
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BEAUTIFUL FISH: ATLANTIC HALIBUT -By Al Bezanson
Halibut caught in shallow water are very active, usually starting off at great speed when they are hauled up from the bottom, often spinning the dory around in their attempts to escape.Ā (Goode and Collins, 1887)Ā The offshore fishery for halibut began about 1830, when cod fishermen brought word to Gloucester of a great abundance of them on Georges Bank,[61] and they were caught there for a few years thereafter in numbers that seem almost unbelievable today. Thus we read of 250 caught in three hours; of vessels loaded in a couple of days; and of a single smack landing 20,000 pounds in a day.
From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schoeder, 1953
GLOUCESTER ā On March 7, 1935, two men trawling for halibut from a Gloucester schooner off Newfoundland disappeared from their overturned dory and were presumed drowned. The deaths of Charles Daley and Stephen Olsson were unremarkable, except that they were among the last of their kind. Their families mourned and then turned to the task of surviving without them. Within a few years, dory fishing was no longer.Ā (From a review of Alone at Sea by John N Morris, 2010)
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Repairs Gone Wrong – botched cleaning on City Hall Honor Roll plaques require corrective restoration
And the qualified help that’s needed is underway!
What do you do when your home repair goes very wrong? Upon evaluation, sometimes you just have to hire a new contractor to remedy mistakes. In the fall of 2014 memorial honor roll plaques in City Hall received some cleaning. The monuments were due some attention.Ā Over time the names were no longer legible and the surfaces were grimy defeating their noble purpose. Gloucester’s outstanding City Archives and the Cape Ann Office of Veterans Services were and are able to help with research for those who can’t come in person or see them clearly.
photo caption: BEFORE photograph of one of four WW1 honor rolls in the rotunda City Hall, ca.2014
The 2014 project was not handled by the city nor administered through its committee for the arts, of which I am a member.Ā Funds were raised privately to work on the plaques. Though well intentioned, those restoration efforts were botched (and costly at the time, so I’m told.)Ā The names were made more visible, but the plaques were damaged and results are scratched, streaked and blotchy.
A small annual budget (FY2018 $4000) that’s set aside for care of City arts and culture and monuments as part of its mission must now be redirected to fix the fix.Ā Yes, “Sometimes you have to hire a new contractor to remedy mistakes,”Ā frustrating, but necessary.
Throughout 2018, you may see specialists from Skylight Studios repairing plaques within City Hall through the Committee for the Arts on behalf of the City. (Gloucester residents may recall that Skylight Studios was hired by the Commonwealth to restore the bronze doors of the Abram Piat Andrew Bridge; the doors were temporarily displayed at Cape Ann Museum before being reinstalled.)
The detailed work on the City Hall plaques will be completed in brief, focused intervals. One plaque in the rotunda will be restored last, because it’s a great opportunity to show before and after examples of contemporary restoration projects- the good, the bad and the quality.Ā As the plaques are repaired, the detail of the raised carving and borders and most importantly the names of so many veterans will become easier and easier to read and remember.
Gloucester Ma Veterans Honor Rolls and Monuments
*author note- this post is listing interior Honor Rolls within City Hall; it’s not a complete list for all tributes in GloucesterĀ
GROUND FLOOR, CITY HALL
Spanish American War- “Men of Gloucester who served in the War with Spain volunteers all 1898-1902. Gloucester ‘s men, serving on land and sea won for their cityĀ the honor of giving to her country the largest per capita of men in this war. Erected by the City of Gloucester 1930.”
World War I Honor Rolls (rotunda and upstairs)
World Ward II Honor Roll (outside clerk’s office)
Korean Honor Roll (outside clerk’s office)
Vietnam Honor Roll (outside clerk’s office; Brian Hamilton 1980 painting of fisherman)
just outside Kyrouz Auditorium, FIRST FLOOR, CITY HALL
“Civil War (1861 1865)This tablet records the service of Company G 8th Regiment MVM in the Civil War;Ā andĀ War with Spain (1898 1899) occupation of Cuba; and World War 1917 1919″Ā Corrective repairs are underway on this trio Honor Roll. Waxy build up added in 2014 is being removed all over, and names in a small lower right corner have been attended.
The multi story memorial to Gloucester fishermen lost at sea was a major public art project led, designed and hand painted by Norma Cuneo, with Irma Wheeler and Ellen Ferrin in 1978, a beautiful shrine lighted by day by two tall windows. Mark Newton, then city clerk-historian, and Jerry Cook were lead researchers; the team eventually compiled a card index that could be accessed by the public along with checking this massive lost at sea mural. Research incorporated historic materials likeĀ The Fishermen’s Memorial and Record Book, by George H. Procter, published by Procter Bros. in 1873, printed matter, family archives, and newspapers. Volunteers and historians amend the sources and statistics over time. The sense of the power of a name and life is inspiring. The response and need to a tangible, accessible record was tremendous. Their work was the basis for the cenotaph installed in 2000 by the Fisherman at the Wheel memorial on Stacy Boulevard, a sacred place and pilgrimage site accessible day and night.
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The Golden Hour
At Magnolia Landing on Tuesday evening, ran into so many great people watching the sunset, also fun to see fellow GMG contributors Jim Dalpiaz and Dave Fernandes.
Good Morning Gloucester 