A commercial fisherman featured on a TV series, Gus Sanfilippo, and six others are presumed dead after their 72-foot vessel, the Lily Jean, sank in freezing waters off Massachusetts on Saturday. A fishery observer with NOAA was also aboard.
The Coast Guard responded after an emergency radio beacon alert, finding debris, an empty life raft, and one body; the remaining six are presumed dead. Harsh conditions, including 12°F air, 39°F water, 4-foot waves, and a nor’easter approaching, have made search efforts extremely dangerous.
Sanfilippo, a fifth-generation Gloucester fisherman, was featured in a 2012 episode of Nor’Easter Men, which highlighted the perils of commercial fishing.