The search for missing crewmembers from a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said on Saturday, bringing a somber pause to a multi-day rescue operation that gripped the New England fishing community.
The fishing vessel Lily Jean went down approximately 25 miles off Cape Ann after the Coast Guard received an emergency alert from the boat early Friday morning. Seven people were reported to be aboard at the time of the incident.
Coast Guard officials said the distress signal came not from a mayday call, but from the vessel’s emergency beacon — a device designed to automatically transmit a location signal when it comes into contact with water. The alert triggered an immediate search effort involving Coast Guard cutters, aircraft, and partner agencies operating in the frigid Atlantic waters.
During the search, crews located a debris field near the site of the emergency signal. A body was recovered from the water, and an unoccupied life raft was also found nearby, raising fears that the crew had little time to escape the sinking vessel. Authorities have not released the identity of the recovered individual or the names of those still missing, pending notification of next of kin.
After days of searching under challenging conditions, officials announced that the operation had been suspended.
“All reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers have been exhausted,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Captain Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston, described the decision as a painful one.
“The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult,” Frederick said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lily Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time.”
The vessel was returning to Gloucester, Massachusetts, when it encountered trouble. Officials said no mayday call was received before the emergency beacon activated, suggesting the situation may have escalated rapidly.
The Lily Jean was known beyond the docks of Gloucester. The vessel appeared in Nor’easter Men, a three-hour fishing documentary aired on the History Channel that highlighted commercial draggers operating out of several New England ports. The series offered viewers a rare glimpse into the risks and routines of life at sea, underscoring the dangers fishermen face even on routine trips.
State Senator Bruce Tarr, who represents the Cape Ann region, spoke emotionally about the vessel’s skipper, describing him as a respected and deeply trusted figure within the fishing community.
“The skipper of this vessel is well known to all of us,” Tarr said. “He’s one of the kindest, nicest individuals on the face of this earth. He is very skilled, his family comes from a tradition of fishing, and he is one of those in this port that is considered among the best.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also expressed her condolences, calling the tragedy devastating for the state’s coastal communities.
“I am heartbroken by the sinking of the Lily Jean,” Healey said in a statement posted on Facebook. “I am praying for the crew, and my heart goes out to their loved ones and all Gloucester fishing families during this awful time.”
Healey emphasized the deep connection between fishing and the region’s identity, noting that fishermen and fishing vessels are central to the history, economy, and culture of Gloucester and Cape Ann.
Gloucester, often described as America’s oldest working fishing port, has long symbolized both the pride and peril of the industry. The city famously served as the setting for the film The Perfect Storm, which dramatized the real-life loss of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail and its crew in a powerful North Atlantic storm — a reminder of how quickly conditions at sea can turn fatal.
