Fishermen’s Co-Op Chief Resigns Post

Frank Iacono, the venerable head of the 61-year-old San Pedro Fishermen’s Cooperative, has resigned from that job and his position as board chairman of the co-op’s cannery.

Iacono, 67, left both posts last Thursday, citing health reasons. Last spring, he underwent surgery for cancer. There was no word Thursday on who would replace him.

In an interview, Iacono said he had become frustrated recently because a few members of the cooperative have been selling fish to the cannery’s competitors, which is against the co-op’s rules. “When you see one or two breaking the ranks, that hurts the whole outfit,” he said, adding that the cooperative’s board of directors is considering whether to take action against those members.

He said the dispute did not affect his decision to resign.

A Stressful Job

“My main purpose is my health. I had a very serious operation here in April, and that job is a very stressful job,” Iacono said. “They wanted me to sit in as an adviser but I just have to make the break.”

Breaking from the group has been difficult for Iacono in the past. He came out of retirement 3 1/2 years ago to fill in temporarily as the general manager when his predecessor’s contract was not renewed. He wound up staying.

During his tenure as general manager, Iacono administered a variety of projects intended to help revitalize the beleaguered fishing industry. Chief among them is the purchase in April, 1987, of a former Star-Kist cannery on Terminal Island. Co-op members reportedly put up $20,000 each to buy the plant.

The purchase insured a market for the anglers at a time when Star-Kist, their major customer, had decided to cut back canning operations on Terminal Island. Iacono said Thursday that the cannery has begun to make a profit, although he would not give details.

Iacono began fishing in his teens and continued for 42 years before retiring about a decade ago. He joined the cooperative in 1947, along with the other members of the Italian Federated Boat Owners Assn. He served as president of the cooperative several times and is also a past board member.

“I’ve been in this business a long, long time--longer than any of the guys that are in it now,” he said. “They were still in the old country, pushing mules.”

“I’m sure the fishermen’s co-op is going to miss Frank,” said Ann D’Amato, harbor area deputy for Los Angeles Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores. “He’s been a very integral part of the association and in fact, the whole industry.”

In his typical, no-nonsense way, Iacono had little advice for the person who is to succeed him. “Let him learn the way I did,” he said. “The hard way.”