In the opening chapter of Mark Kurlansky’s new book, the author describes the difference between a fish tale and a Gloucester story. A fish tale, he explains, is a story that is exaggerated to make everything seem bigger and better. A Gloucester story, by contrast, is one that accentuates the negative and usually has a miserable ending.

Odd, perhaps, that this coastal community on Massachusetts’ Cape Ann should define itself with stories that show things in their worst possible light. If any town is entitled to tell a whopper of a fish tale, Gloucester would be it.

“Gloucester is kind of an iconic place,” Kurlansky said. The city is home to the country’s oldest fishing port, and it remains one of the 10 largest ports in the United States. “If you want to talk about fishing and fishing communities, there’s just no better place to look at than Gloucester,” he said. 

Talking about fishing communities is exactly what Kurlansky set out to do with his latest book, “The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America’s Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town.” Released by Ballantine Books this month, the book recounts the history of fishing in the Atlantic Ocean and describes how the culture surrounding that history has been imperiled in modern times.

Kurlansky, who previously wrote such historically significant books as “Cod,” “Salt,” “1968” and “The Big Oyster,” is a New York Times bestselling author and winner of the James A. Beard Award. A part-time resident of Gloucester, he will read from “The Last Fish Tale” and answer questions at Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport, Mass., on Friday, June 20.

According to Kurlansky, a variety of factors have led to the diminution of the commercial fishing industry in New England. Advancements in technology caused rampant over-fishing for much of the 20th century. Depletion of fish stocks has led to strict limits on the number of commercial fishing licenses made available. And the impacts on fishing of environmental factors like global warming and pollution have yet to be thoroughly assessed.   

If the decline in fishing continues, it would erase a culture that has enveloped Gloucester for centuries. The first Europeans to arrive were believed to be Vikings who sailed to Cape Ann via Labrador and Newfoundland in the year 1004. Many centuries later, a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain surveyed the cape. But it was not until 1614 that Captain John Smith arrived in Gloucester and recognized the value of its abundant cod and halibut.

The British adventurer returned to England with a supply of 7,000 salted cod and 40,000 dried cod, helping to convince the British government that development in the American colonies should focus on Massachusetts and the Northeast. It was Smith who gave New England its name.

“He thought that (New England), and not Virginia, was the place that ought to be developed,” Kurlansky said. “Part of his sales pitch was that there was such good fishing, although he personally hated fishing.”

The first settlers in Massachusetts, of course, were the Pilgrims, who came to set up a religious colony and relied on fishing to support themselves. At first, the Pilgrims were clueless when it came to fishing. Those who were practiced in the trade congregated on Cape Ann, Kurlansky said.

“That’s actually where Gloucester came in, because people who did have knowledge of fishing went to set up this fishing station in Gloucester in 1623,” he said. “It was founded as a fishing place and it has always been one.”

For the next several centuries, fishing shaped Gloucester’s culture and economy. The city is actually an island connected to Cape Ann by a narrow strip called the Cut. Citizens on the island adopted a self-sufficient way of life that revolved around the fishery.

“(Gloucester) has always had a very insular mentality, and part of that was that they tried not to depend on anyone,” Kurlansky said. “So they built their own ships and made their own nets and made their own oil skins, and all of these ancillary businesses around the fishery, plus fishing, was the economic life of the city.”

Concerns over the fishery’s future are nothing new. At various times over the past few hundred years, fishermen have observed sharp downturns in fish stocks. But serious long-term concerns arose in the early 1900s, when engine-powered, net-dragging vessels were introduced to New England. The new technology, though extremely efficient, had already devastated British fish stocks in parts of the North Sea, and fishermen in New England worried that it would have the same effect here. 

To a large degree, it did. As a teenager in the 1960s, Kurlansky can remember being able to walk up to ports in southern New England and easily find work. But as a result of diminished fish stocks, rules have been enacted to limit the number of days that fishermen can work at sea. In addition, new fishing licenses are not being issued in Gloucester, meaning that unlicensed fishermen can only obtain a license if someone gives up an existing one. These days, it’s exceedingly tough to get a job on a fishing boat.

“The history of Gloucester has always been looking for more fishermen. Until recently, there was never a shortage of jobs in the fishery,” Kurlansky said. “It’s not an option for kids anymore. The sons of fishermen are lucky if they can get work on a fishing boat.”

Nevertheless, the regulations are necessary. If over-fishing were to continue in New England, there would be no fish for anyone.

“Clearly, you’re better off having the regulations. Having the fishing being reduced by regulations beats having the fishing reduced by destruction of the fish,” Kurlansky said.

But there are other problems. Fishing is one of the countless facets of life that could be altered due to global warming. Cod, for example, only spawn at certain temperatures. If water temperatures change, it would likely have an adverse effect on the species’ reproductive cycle. Melting of the polar ice caps is changing the water’s salinity, as well.

“Logic tells you that these things will have an enormous effect on fish populations, but it hasn’t really been studied enough,” Kurlansky said.

There is no easy solution to the problems that threaten fish stocks off the New England coast. Restrictions on commercial fishing have not always proved successful, although species like haddock and striped bass have made recoveries. And fishing technology has continued to make leaps that could wipe out fish populations.

“Fishing just got too efficient, with big bottom-draggers and sonar and rock hoppers that would get the net over any underwater terrain and all kinds of technology for spotting fish,” Kurlansky said. “As Gloucester fishermen say, ‘The fish just don’t have a chance anymore.’”

If nothing is done to rescue the fishing industry, however, it could have dire implications for New England’s culture, economy and identity. Those implications would also extend to other areas that rely on fishing, such as the West Coast and the Gulf Coast.

“This would have a ripple effect on the whole country. You’re talking about losing cultures and losing ways of life,” Kurlansky said.

But the author, who personally enjoys recreational fishing for stripers and bluefish, does believe there is hope for Gloucester’s fishing community. Reports from marine biologists that fish stocks could be exhausted by 2048 will only become a reality if biodiversity is allowed to decline. Kurlansky thinks a ban on bottom dragging should be considered, although such a dramatic measure would require the government to provide fishermen with the financing they need to convert to other types of fishing.
Many fishermen believe that fish stocks grow and shrink in cycles that have little or nothing to do with human intervention.

There are fishermen today who believe that the current fishing crisis is not an ecological disaster but a cyclical downturn in fishing that will pass. Others believe it is a permanent crisis that must be addressed immediately. Kurlansky belongs to the latter camp.

So, years from now, will the story of Gloucester’s fishing history be told as a glorious fish tale or a gloomy Gloucester story?
“Well, that’s my point. I’m hoping it’s a fish tale,” Kurlansky said. “I’m hoping it’s not a Gloucester story.”