The Gloucester Fisheries Commission was established by a home rule petition to the state Legislature in 1956, but times and the fishery have changed and the commission’s inability to net a quorum of its 13 members has snagged its ability to operate effectively.
That was until Oct. 16 when Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed into law legislation to modernize a vital advisory board in America’s oldest fishing port.
State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, were able to file the the home rule petition, “An Act Establishing the Gloucester Fisheries Commission,” jointly and get it passed.