had dwindled to 200 people and 16 fishing boats, as the Los Angeles Times reported that the poor turnout was "a sad reminder of the story of the San Pedro fishing industry," which had "fallen upon stormy economic seas." The blessing ceremony was also accompanied for many years by a festival that attracted up to 250,000 visitors in the late 1960s, and included a boat parade that was reportedly the second most photographed event in the nation, trailing only Pasadena's Rose Parade. In 1985, Mary Star of the Sea began to offer a special fishermen's Mass on the same day as the blessing of the fleet. At the 1987 fishermen's Mass, Msgr. Gallagher told the congregation: "Times have changed. The fishing industry is not what it used to be. But yet we've seen this remnant of people . . . who adjust to the changing conditions, who persevere in the face of adversity. We pray in a very special way for the abundance of the fish of the sea, for the fishermen, that they will truly have a great catch." "Miracle" of the giant fish The fishermen's prayers may have been answered in 1989, as a record tuna catch brought an infusion of prosperity to San Pedro's fishermen and also to Mary Star of the Sea. The catch that year included 767 of the biggest Pacific blue fin tuna ever taken by a commercial fishing fleet, each fish weighing 300 to 1,000 pounds—a size never seen or caught before. The giant tuna generated "the biggest excitement in years for San Pedro's fishing fleet." One San Pedro fisherman referred to the unusual catch as "God's gift to the San Pedro fishermen," and another called it "a miracle." At the time, the Los Angeles Times did a feature article on the giant fish, focusing on the tight relationship between the fishermen and Mary Star of the Sea. The article noted that the fishermen and cannery workers of San Pedro had provided most of the funding to build the new Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in the 1950s. Msgr. Gallagher, interviewed by the Times, noted that the church, too, had benefited from the fishermen's good fortune: "Our collections the last couple of months are noticeably higher than usual. I think you can thank those big fish." Bronze statue of Mary The symbol of Mary Star of the Sea is the 10-foot