A fishing boat that sank in 1988 off Massachusetts has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places – but it’s unlikely anyone will ever visit it.

That’s because the 54-foot Edna G. sits in 300 feet of water off Gloucester in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The boat that fished for cod, flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish mysteriously sank on June 20, 1988 as her two-man crew set out a trawl net.

After the crew heard a strange noise, the engine room began filling with water. The two were saved by another fishing boat and the cause of its sinking was never discovered. 

Eastern rig dragger Edna G. during its sea trials off North Carolina in 1956.

National Fishermen July 1956, courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum

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But the boat, launched in 1956, is representative of technological advances in that era that improved fishermen?’s ability to catch fish, federal officials say.

“Edna G. was listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its exceptional importance as a remarkably intact example of 20th century fishing technology,” said Craig MacDonald, superintendent, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. “The shipwreck represents a rapidly disappearing watercraft variety emblematic of the region’s maritime traditions.”

Scientists from NOAA and the University of Connecticut’s Northeast Underwater Research Technology and Education Center examined the shipwreck with a remotely operated vehicle in 2003. They found an intact wooden hull, wheelhouse and trawl winch. The boat fished mostly off North Carolina and Virginia but new owners moved it to Gloucester in 1974.

While some expert divers might be able to reach the boat, sanctuary regulations forbid removing artifacts and pieces from shipwrecks.