Fishing community North of Boston in mourning again

WBUR | By Anthony Brooks

Published February 4, 2026 at 11:56 AM EST

Jane Asaro Hartson, Patricia McGrath and Diana Taylor stand to honor the memory of the crew of the Lily Jean at the Fisherman’s Memorial in Gloucester on Monday. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Seven fishermen aboard their vessel called the Lily Jean are presumed dead after it sank in the Atlantic Ocean last Friday.

WBUR’s Anthony Brooks reports on how it’s hitting the Gloucester community, the anchor of the country’s oldest fishing port.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Anthony Brooks

Anthony Brooks has more than twenty five years of experience in public radio, working as a producer, editor, reporter, and most recently, as a fill-in host for NPR. For years, Brooks has worked as a Boston-based reporter for NPR, covering regional issues across New England, including politics, criminal justice, and urban affairs. He has also covered higher education for NPR, and during the 2000 presidential election he was one of NPR's lead political reporters, covering the campaign from the early primaries through the Supreme Court's Bush V. Gore ruling. His reports have been heard for many years on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition.