Barry Gibson
In October, the marine publishing world lost a key figure with the death of Barry Gibson, co-publisher of Center Console Life magazine alongside William E. Taylor, and earlier, Fish Boat Registry.
Gibson, aged 72, passed away at his East Boothbay, Maine home after a courageous fight against cancer. A native of Boston, he dedicated over 50 years to marine publishing, including 23 years as the lead editor at Salt Water Sportsman magazine.
“Our industry has lost a wonderful person and an exceptional editor,” stated Gregg Mansfield, editor of Center Console Life. “Barry was deeply passionate about fishing, committed to journalism, and proud of his family. He truly lived life to the fullest and will be sorely missed.”
Unable to improve upon Gibson’s obituary, we are publishing it as it is.
Rest in peace, Barry Gibson
Barry was born on February 6, 1951, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joseph W. and Marjorie (Jacobs) Gibson. He graduated from Winchester (MA) High School in 1969 and earned a BA in English from the University of Miami in 1973. Following graduation, he worked at Boston Harbor Marina and spent summers crewing for various tour boats in the Boothbay area. He received his captain’s license in 1972 and established a fishing charter business with his first vessel, the 25-foot Sasanoa. A few years later, he purchased a 27-foot boat named Shark, honoring Capt. Joe Russell, a Key West charter captain who had fished with Hemingway and owned a boat named Shark that Barry had fished on in the early ’70s.
In 1977, Barry began his tenure at Salt Water Sportsman in downtown Boston as the associate editor and was appointed editor in 1981, a role he held for an additional 23 years. He oversaw the publication’s editorial content during this period, managed a team of 30 home staff members, art directors, and field editors, and collaborated with over 100 contributors. After retiring from SWS in 2004, he became the associate publisher of Fish Boats Registry, the editor-in-chief of Center Console Angler magazine, co-publisher of Center Console Life, and wrote the Saltwater Column for Maine Sportsman for 37 years, from 1986 to 2023.
A strong advocate for responsible fishery management and public access to marine resources for recreational fishing, Barry was appointed to several state, federal, and international boards, including three appointments by U.S. Secretaries of Commerce to the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) (three 3-year terms, Chairman in 1992) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Advisory Committee. He was the New England Regional Director for the Recreational Fishing Alliance from 2005 to 2023 and served as chair and vice-chair of the NEFMC Recreational Advisory Panel from 2000 until 2023. Additionally, he was a member of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Committee, the Maine Sea Grant Policy Advisory Committee, the Boothbay Port Committee, and was vice-president of the Northeast Charterboat Captains Association, a group he co-founded in 1988. Beyond these commitments, he also coached his Beverly (MA) Little League team, the Yankees, for multiple seasons.
Barry fished in significant locations across North, Central, and South America for over 45 years and held a former IGFA World Record for Pacific bigeye tuna on a fly rod. He contributed over 1,000 articles, columns, and photographs to numerous outdoor magazines including Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Yachting, Salt Water Sportsman, Angler’s Journal, Soundings, and Sports Illustrated, garnering three Boating Writers International awards. He featured as a Guest Pro on fishing shows such as “Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal” and “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing,” and regularly co-hosted the New England edition of the Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series tour. He worked as a marine surveyor for Atlantic & Pacific Marine Consultants since 2005, completing over 300 insurance surveys on damaged vessels along the Maine coast.
A prominent charter boat captain and Registered Maine Guide in Boothbay Harbor since 1971, Barry was recognized as one of Salt Water Sportsman’s World’s Top 50 Charter Boat Captains in 2014. He owned a modern Downeast-style 36-foot sportfisherman, Shark IV, built in 1993 by Bradley Simmons, and actively pursued striped bass during the last 16 seasons in his 28-foot Shark Six.
In recent times, Barry particularly relished moments with friends like Tim, Jeff, and Johnna, Al, Norman, Chuck, and many others at the umbrella table on the dock at Brown’s Wharf Marina, as well as with members of the Boothbay Region Fish & Game Association, where he served as Secretary since 2006. He eagerly anticipated his yearly spring trout fishing trip to Bosebuck Mountain Camps with Steve Rubicam and cherished time spent with his two wonderful grandchildren.
He leaves behind his beloved wife of 42 years, Jean Reese-Gibson, who joined him on many charters and overseas fishing excursions; his son Mike Gibson, his wife Erin, and their children Jake and Samantha of Boxford, Massachusetts, and a cousin, Richard Dodd, and his partner Ron Crofoot of New York City.
Barry expressed heartfelt gratitude to his many friends who regularly reached out during his illness to show their support and encouragement, including Tim Brown, Jim Donofrio, Pete Santini, Al Barter, Mike Pierdinock, George Poveromo, Dennis Blackman, Jeff Pendleton, Bradley Simmons, Dave Morel, Christine and the late Steve Rubicam, Larry Grimard, Sue and Paul Taylor, Rip Cunningham, Tom Hill, Michelle Wilson and Joan Brown, Bob Damrell, Peter Drapeau, Susan Whitehouse, Chris and Betsy Betts, Chris Webber, Bob McEarchern, and Dr. Tom Look.
At Barry’s request, there will be no service. He had a love for cats, and donations in his memory may be sent to Community Cat Advocates, 63 Darnit Road, Buckfield, ME 04220 or online at www.communitycatadvocates.com