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gloucester Aesource St d I I 1 I 'i ytaii ',: CA PE kNN I GLOUCESTER M.I.T. SEA MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GRANT National Sea Grant Program PROGRAM Sea Grant Project NG-43-72 Gloucester Resource Study Gloucester Resource Study Interdepartmental Student Project in Systems Engineering at the Massachusetts institute of Technology, Spring Term, 1973 Edited by Roy Nick McPhereon Report Number MITSG 74-3 Index Number 74 103 Cde Gloucester Harbor Contents Preface [ntroduction PART 1. INFORMATiON BASE Chapter 1. HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER 1. 1 Early Settlers 1.2 Commerce and Trade 1,3 Concluding Remarks Chapter 2. ECONOMIC BASE 2 . 1 Introduction 2.2 Fishing Industry 2.2.1 Frozen Fish Processing 2.2.2 Fresh Fish Processing 2.2.3 Fisheries Employment and Earnings 2. 2.4 Fresh Fishing 2.3 Manufacturing and Industry non-fishing! 2 . 3 . I Food Proce ss ing 2.3.2 Other Manufacturing Industry 2.3.3 Employment and Earnings 2.4 Retail Trade and Tourism 2 . 4. 1 Introduction 2.4.2 State Tourism 2 . 4 . 3 G louce s ter Tour i s m 2. 4. 3, 1 Eating 6 Drinking Establishments 2.4.3.2 Hotels, Motels and Camps 2. 4. 3. 3 Art Colony and Museums 2.4,3.4 Boating and Other Recreation Chapter 3. TRANSPORTATION 3. 1 Rail Service 3.1.1 Passengers 3.1.2 Freight Service 3. 2 Roads and Highways 3. 3 Shipping 3.3. 1 Existing Facilities 3. 3.2 Import-Export Trade Chapter 4. GOVERNMENTALSTRUCTURES 4. 1 City System 4.1.1 Introduction 4.1. 2 Institutional Framework 4. l. 3 Committees and Boards 4, 1.3. 1 Elected Committees 4. 1.3 . 2 Appointed Committees 4. 2 Popular Structure 4. 2. 1 Neighborhood Organiza tion 4.2.2 Local Organizations Chapter5. NON-GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONS ANDLEGISLATURE 5.1 Effects on the Fishing Industry 5. 1 . 1 In terna t iona 1 5. 1. 2 U, S, Government 5.2 Coastal Zone Management PARTII, PROBLEMAREAS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Chapter 6. COMMUNITY VALUES 6. 1 Adult Populace 6. 1. 1 Heritage 6.1.2 Fishing Industry 6 . 1 . 3 Non-F ishing Re la ted Industry 6. 1. 4 Tourism 6.1.5 Land Use 6.2 Student Populace 6.2,1 Land Resources 6. 2 . 2 Educational Intentions Chapter 7. DATA EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Fishing Industry 7. 1. 1 Regional Competition and Interplay 7. 1. 2 Foreign Competition 7. 1.3 Interpretation of Findings 7. 2 Industrial non-fishing! 7.2.1 Skills Mix 7. 2. 2 Family Housing 7,2.3 Industry and International Markets 7. 2 . 4 Marine Activity Center 7. 3 Retail Trade and Tourism 7. 3. 1 Tourist Survey 7,3.2 RetaiL Trade Survey 7.3.3 Concluding Statements 6 Recommendations 7.4 Transportation 7.4, 1 Rail Service 7.4.2 Roads and Highways 7.4.3 Harbor Use and Shipping 7.5 Coastal Zone Management and City Government 7.5. 1 Slue Ribbon Committee 7.5.2 Inventory of Re source s 7.5.3 Obtain Funding 7.5.4 Anti-pollution Investigation 7.5.5 City Government Chapter8. PROPOSALAND CONCLUDING REMARKS 8.1 Solving Harbor Use Problems 8.1.1 Cleanup of Inner Harbor 8.1.2 Non-marine Oriented Businesses 8.1.3 Marine Activity Center 8.1.4 Frozen Fish 6 Other Industries 8.1.5 Waterfront Access 8. 2 Solving Transportation Situation 8. 2. 1 Scheduling 8. 2. 2 Transport System 8. 3 Concluding Remarks APPENDICES Appendix I Fishing Products Appendix II Sur vev s Appendix II-a Community Values Survey Appendix II-b Touri st Sur ve y Appendix II-c Retail Trade Survey Appendix III Leg i s I ati on Appendix III-a Coastal Wetlands Act, Chapter 130, Section 105 Appendix Ill-b Order Under General Laws Chapter 130, Section 105 REFERENCES Cited References Supplemental References INDEX The interdisciplinary framework used provides a tool whereby the examination and explanation of complex problemscan be consideredin various aspects and to various degrees. A study of Gloucester, as for any commun>ty, goes beyond the boundaries of any single discipline and can be examined effectively only from a multidisciplinary point of view. The Gloucester project provided a real problem situation in which students could learn to work in a team situation and examine complex problems in a cooperative manner. From the outset of the project the tentative goals were to identify, in a broad manner, the problems of the area and to formulate potential solutions It was never felt that a specific "master plan" would be developed, since master planning in the traditional sense limits the options which a city may consider. Instead it was believed that the present situation in Gloucester should be described and the desires of the community interpreted. Based upon these findings, recommendations for aligning the community'sneeds and desires with its future physical, political and social environment could be developed, The proposal suggested represents one option wherebyGloucester might effectively makethat alignment. Initially, four M.I. T. students were involved with me in a series of visits to Gloucester during January 1973 to gather background information, In February, presentationsto the class by guest lecturers helped to identify funda- mental issues pertinent to the study, Simultaneously, students selected specific areas of interest and formed subgroups for closer examination of critical problem areas. On May 21 and again on June 6, results of the findings of the groupwere presentedto Gloucesteraudiences which includedrepresentatives from the business and governmentestablishments and from concernedcitizen organizations. Thesefindings were formally written up as term papers. Presentedherein are the results of the research findings initialLy presentedalong with a substantial amount of researchconducted during the summerof 1973, The additional researchand the preparationof this final report were efforts carried out primarily by Itoy Nick McPherson. It is hoped that the information presentedwill assist Gloucester in future decision making. The primary aim is to generateinterest in problemareas which need additional consideration and expanded study. vi Special thanks are due to Ms. Myra L, Hackel for her patience in typing the final copy and to Mr. Arthur Giordani of the Electronic Systems Laboratory for his meticulous efforts in preparing the illustrations. The editorial effort as well as preparation of the final manuscript were supported jointly by the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation, Inc., the NOAA Office of Sea Grant, Grant No. NG-43-72, 1972-1973 project element "Interdisciplinary Systems Design Course ", The Gorton Corporation, the Cape Ann Band and Trust Company, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. William W. Seifert Professor of Electrical Engineering Professor of Engineering in Civil Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts October, 1973 ! Suggest>oneand recommendationswhich are a reflection of the "long- range goals" Figure i-I INFORMATION BASE History of Gloucester The city of Gloucester is located on Cape Ann in northern Massachusetts. She has a good natural harbor, located near some of the finest fishing grounds in the world. Hers is a long, proud history, over 300 years of intimate association with the sea. She has been celebrated by Rudyard Kipling in "Captain's Courageous", in poems by Longfellow and others, and in the works of countless Cape Ann artists. She has survived hard times and prosperous times with the sea, but today her proud ships and heroic fishermen are just memories. Her survival now depends upon decisions affecting her role, her ties to the sea, her very character. These decisions should be made with a feeling for her past and a knowledge of her present, her resources and capabilities. Long before the first settlers arrived, Europeans had been fishing profitably in the waters off Cape Ann. The Portuguese called it "Cabo De Santa Maria" Cape of St. Mary!. The French explorer, Champlain, called it "Cape Aux Trois Iles ", and in 1606 he anchored in what he called "Le Beau Port", one of the first recorded visits to what was to become the Port of Gloucester. He made note of her scenic beauty, strange natives, and abundance of fish, In 1614 Capt. John Smith paid a visit to the area calling it Cape Tragabigzanda, after a certain princess whom he had once befriended. It wasn't until 1624 that this cape received its present name, Cape Ann, after the mother of Charles I. !n 1642, "Le Beau Port" was incorporated as the town of Gloucester, named after a village of the same name in England. The first settlers arrived in 1623, following disagreements with the Puritans in Plymouth, They settled on the Annisquam, and were joined in 1624 by another group from England. Many of the original settlers didn't stay, but those who did survived through a combination of farming, fishing and the trading of cordwood and timber with Boston and Salem. The early fishermen stuck close to the shore, between Cape Ann and Cape Sable at the western end of Nova Scotia IGarland, It wasn't until the beginning of the 1700's that fishing became the dominant factor in the life and economy of Gloucester. By this time the supply of timber was all but exhausted, and farming had never flourished in the rocky terrain. So Gloucester began to look offshore to the rich, but dangerous waters of the "Grand Banks" for sustenance. This meant hard, perilous fishing trips, lasting 10-12 weeks, but it also meant the beginning of a great seafaring tradition, and prosperity. The end of the wars with the French was a boon to the fishermen, giving them more access to Canadian waters. A little story told of this period gives an idea of the flavor of the times.