Acadian redfish, Sebastes fascinates, colored-pencil drawing by Mike Palmer, 2023.
By Doreen Leggett
Acadian Redfish, which ranges from Virginia to Iceland, also has a wide-ranging history, including being co-opted by the United States Army during World War II. But it was first identified in Provincetown.
The bright-colored fish was discovered in the harbor at the tip of the Cape by Captain Nathan Ellis Atwood in 1854. Atwood was friends with Dr. D. H. Storer, a physician and naturalist who identified numerous fish species and described others, including yellowtail flounder.
Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, published in 1856 and discovered by modern-day Provincetown historian Lisa King, states that Storer brought forward the species, noting it wasn’t convex in front of the dorsal like its cousin Sebastes norvegicus (sometimes known as rock fish):
“Dr. D. H. Storer presented a new species of Fish, from Captain N.E. Atwood, of Provincetown, and found in the harbor at that place, which he proposed to call Sebastas fasciatus,” the report stated.
Storer was born in Maine and lived in Boston. “By the early 1840s, Atwood’s knowledge of the fishery attracted the attention of the scientific community, particularly physician and naturalist Storer (1804-1891), whose field studies culminated in the 1867 publication of A History of the Fishes of Massachusetts,” Amy Whorf McGuiggan wrote in the Provincetown Independent in 2021.
In his introduction, Storer wrote that “during the last six or eight years, no individual has rendered me such essential assistance as Captain Nathaniel E. Atwood of Provincetown. For nearly thirty years a practical fisherman, thoroughly acquainted with the habits of most of our fishes, and willing and ready to do all in his power to advance my wishes, he has placed me under obligations which I cannot express.” Storer added that Atwood was “the best practical ichthyologist in our State.”
In an article in Science years later, 1892, S. Garman wrote about Storer’s important contribution to the field of ichthyology.
“In the amount of information given, its accuracy, and style and presentation, he has established his claim to present and future gratitude and has proved his right to rank amongst the foremost of American ichthyologists,” Garman wrote. “He seems to have been especially fortunate in selecting the men on whom he depended most for assistance. Such names as those of Captain N. E. Atwood of Provincetown or Captain Nathaniel Blanchard of Lynn are often cited as authorities for statements of fact, and I have never yet been able to learn of a single instance in which their testimony has proved other than absolutely trustworthy.”
Atwood was mentioned by Henry David Thoreau, who in 1857 noted in his diary that he had “called on Mr. Atwood, the Representative of the town and one of the commissioners appointed by the legislature to superintend the experiments in the artificial breeding of fishes.”
Atwood was born a fishermen’s son in 1807. The oldest of nine, he moved to Long Point when he was 11 so his father, John, could be closer to the fishing grounds. Atwood’s father is said to have built the first house there and Long Point’s only wharf; at one time 20 cod-fishing vessels could land at the spot.
Along with fishing offshore, historians say fishermen on Long Point used seines to catch mackerel, shad and bass. There are reports of up to seventy-five 200-pound barrels of white shad caught in one haul, fetching $16 per barrel — roughly $30,700 in today’s dollars.
The remote village, on a finger of sand at the far end of Provincetown Harbor, boasted a population of 200 in the late 1840s, had its own post office, school, a bakery and several saltworks. By the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, few structures remained. Many dwellings were floated across the harbor on scows and some can now be identified by blue and white enamel markers. Nathaniel Atwood was one of the last to move to the mainland, floating his house to Provincetown’s West End.
By then, he was a noted fishermen in his own right, going to sea at 15 as a cook on a vessel bound for Labrador. By 21, he captained his own ship.
According to McGuiggan, Capt. Atwood was a master of whaling, mackerel, dogfish, halibut, and cod fisheries until, at age 60, he “coiled up his lines and quitted going vesseling,” turning his attention to the manufacture of medicinal cod liver oil. His civic service included two terms as representative to the legislature (1857-1858), a term as state senator (1869-1871), bank trustee, three years as a school committee member, and his appointment by the governor to study the propagation of fish.
In 1886, upon his death, well-known Provincetown businessman James Gifford noted that Atwood was characterized by “unselfishness, gentleness and integrity that was unswerving. The death of no man in Provincetown, in this generation at least, produced more general or sincere regret,” McGuiggan wrote.
The Acadian redfish went on to fame 80-odd years later.
According to Mike Palmer, an artist and former fisheries biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, red fish became a surprise hero during World War II. With traditional protein sources scarce, government programs encouraged Americans to eat a variety of seafood.
“This species was widely fished during WWII. It shipped well overseas and was a key protein source for soldiers (though) handling them was difficult — many processors suffered serious hand injuries from the redfish’s sharp dorsal spines,” according to Our Wicked Fish blog dated 2015.
After the war, the government attempted to develop new markets for Acadian redfish, which can be caught year round, to keep the growing domestic fleet afloat. One program involved selling them – also called ocean perch – in the Midwest as a substitute for Great Lakes yellow perch.
These programs and high catches had lasting impacts. The Gulf of Maine redfish population plummeted through the 1990s as almost all groundfish stocks suffered from severe overfishing, Palmer noted.
When management measures were implemented, including strict catch limits, the population rebounded to levels last seen in the 1940s. Acadian redfish are now considered a sustainable seafood option.
Redfish is caught in Provincetown today, but because it fetches a low price often is sold for bait. Red fish that hits consumer markets is more often brought in by large boats out of New Bedford.
Once again there is effort to increase consumption of the tasty white fish, which has been compared to haddock. According to Red’s Best seafood, where you can buy it, redfish is low in saturated fat and a good source of niacin (which helps fight heart disease), vitamins B6 and B12, calcium, protein, phosphorus, and selenium (a powerful antioxidant).
Atwood and Storer might not have known that, but they probably suspected as much.