Gloucester lobstermen must clear St. Peter's Landing by Nov. 15; rebuild goes to bid in February, Waterways Board hears

Gloucester's Waterways Board got its season wrap up from the harbormaster Oct. 6 and spent most of the meeting on St. Peter's Landing, where the commercial float is set to be rebuilt this winter.

What happened

• Lobstermen who tie up at St. Peter's Landing have been told by letter and by notices on their boats that their traps must be off the pier by Nov. 15.
• The city told the harbormaster the rebuild should go out to bid in February. The boats will have to move during the work, and the board's public facilities subcommittee will look at where they can go.
• About 1,170 moorings were booked this season, a little ahead of last year.
• The Magnolia Pier gangway was rebuilt after another failure, for just under $4,000 including an earlier repair.
• The board agreed to review its fees in late November or December, and asked the city again to fill its vacant seats.

The season

The harbormaster said mooring bookings ran a bit ahead of last year, with most made online. The Schooner Festival went better after the office kept boats from anchoring inside a large circle, so the schooners could sail around it.

At Magnolia Pier, the gangway failed again. Its hinge section had been replaced, but the part attached to the gangway tore. It was repaired and reinforced with cross members, but by then it was only days from the usual Sept. 15 removal date, so it went into storage at Cripple Cove. One of the 6,000 pound blocks that hold the float has moved, and the chains and blocks will be inspected and reset this coming year.

St. Peter's Landing

The board asked about traps already stacked on the pier. The harbormaster said one lobsterman had moved gear up during the storm and has been told the deadline. The bigger question is where the boats go once the rebuild starts. The new design keeps a railing along the boardwalk with a removable section so traps can be lifted over it.

A member of the public facilities subcommittee reported that 40 lobster boats are on the waiting list for a slip, and that some boats at the landing rarely leave the dock. Members read the board's own regulation, which limits the city's commercial marinas to boats actively engaged in commercial fishing, with proof of insurance naming the city, a fishing permit, a rigged boat and landing records. A boat not fishing for 12 months is supposed to come before the board. The subcommittee will work on how the office verifies that when leases go out July 1, and may add a statement signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.

The board also went over electricity at the two commercial landings. The old $100 a year per slip charge brought in $2,400 against bills of more than $10,000, so the office is going back to reading meters. New lights on the pier and gangway cost a few thousand dollars. Some electrical pedestals have broken covers; replacements run $3,000 each, so the office hopes to reuse good ones from St. Peter's when the new ones go in.

Fees and the launch

The harbormaster said transient sailboaters he talked to this season did not want any fee changes and some called Gloucester expensive, while powerboaters mostly did not care. Members said they do not want to price the harbor out of the market, but noted that marinas to the south charge several dollars a foot a night.

The launch is the sore point for locals: $10 a person each way. Books of 20 rides sell for much less, but only four were sold this year. Members asked the office to tell mooring holders the booklets exist. Kayak rack fees were dropped because some racks sit half empty while others have a waiting list of about 100; the office will try to move racks to the busy spots.

The board will take a first look at the budget against projections later in the winter. A member asked whether the city will again charge the enterprise fund a share of city overhead, about 3.8 percent this year. Members said to count on it.

Vacancies

Members said the board has gone about a year with open seats, and the city ordinance says three terms expire each year. Members said the mayor emailed that afternoon that he is recruiting two members from the fishing industry. One member said, for the record, that the process has taken too long.

What was decided

• Minutes of the July meeting: approved.
• Adjourn: 5 to 0.

What happens next

• Nov. 15: traps off the pier at St. Peter's Landing.
• November: the board's next meeting will be moved off Election Day, Nov. 3; the chair will check the room for Nov. 4 or Nov. 11.
• February: the St. Peter's Landing rebuild is expected to go to bid.

Where to find the records

• Waterways Board agendas and minutes on the city website.
• October 2026 past meetings, with the recording.

Earlier coverage: Gloucester health panel to review blasting study for planned Kondelin Road waste transfer station (Oct. 5), which previewed this meeting's agenda.

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the meeting online and checked names against the agenda and the board's roster on the city website. These are our meeting notes, not the board's minutes.