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BY LYNN EMBICK ‘11G
Joe Marciano ‘17 became involved with the National Geographic documentary series, "Wicked Tuna" in 2012, as a sophomore in high school. He was involved with school and sports, but in his free time he was working alongside his father, Dave Marciano, who was a full-time fisherman. The televised documentary series follows several captains in the tuna industry, including Joe's father.
"Wicked Tuna" has featured Joe's family business as part of the cast in all seven of its currently released seasons. Filming for season eight, Joe says, was to begin July 28. The family has also been a part of a "Wicked Tuna" spinoff entitled, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks." This additional documentary series follows the fishermen as they travel south to the waters of North Carolina during the months of January-March, fishing competitively against southern boats.
Joe describes the initial target audience of "Wicked Tuna" as 25 to 40-year-old men, but he explains that the fan base has far surpassed that projection to include a younger audience and women as the show highlights five different captains, all with various backgrounds and with a variety of personalities. Joe feels that the spread of ages of the captains, and behind-the-scenes dynamics, including children and wives, has contributed to the show's success.
In addition to taking a lead with the marketing for Angelica Fisheries Inc. in Gloucester, Joe is also captain of the Hard Merchandise. He was invited to participate in a Blue Fin fishing tournament in Italy, during which he was able to explore Rome. He has also had the opportunity to fish West Coast Blue Fin in California, and has enjoyed having New England Patriots players as clients on the family vessels.
Joe commented that the best thing to come out of "Wicked Tuna" was the dispelling of the idea of the fisherman as a sort of barbaric icon, fishing ruthlessly and without thought for the environment. He attributes the show with highlighting the legacy of aquaculture, fishermen doing their job with regard to sustainability, ensuring the survival of a way of life for future generations.