Workers at the Portland Fish Exchange in Portland, Maine, move fish in a tote before it's transported. The exchange and the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association have partnered for the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program, an initiative that provides fresh, locally caught seafood to community members, including public schools. Ryan David Brown for NPR hide caption
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Surging food costs and fuel prices are pummeling Maine's struggling groundfishing industry. But a pandemic-era program is helping to keep it afloat as inflation worsens, while also aiming to create a new generation of seafood lovers.
Fishermen Feeding Mainers began in late 2020 and raises money to buy locally caught fish, process it and donate the frozen fillets to schools and food banks in Maine. So far, it has spent more than $4 million on the purchasing and processing of about 1.3 million pounds of locally caught fish.
"Before this [program], chances were you could get down to some really scary-low prices," said Boothbay fisherman Devyn Campbell of the amount he could earn for his catch.
Boothbay fisherman Devyn Campbell stands outside the Portland Fish Exchange. Ryan David Brown for NPR hide caption
toggle caption Ryan David Brown for NPRThat's in part because the market for local fish dried up early in the COVID-19 pandemic when restaurants closed to in-person dining. "COVID destroyed all fish prices," Campbell said.
The arrival of the program threw a lifeline to Maine's struggling groundfishermen, who target bottom-dwelling species like cod and haddock. It also offered a free food source to locals at a time of worsening food insecurity. Now in its sixth year, Fishermen Feeding Mainers is helping local fishing crews deal with persistent financial pressures and is also affording places that don't usually offer fish — such as public schools — a chance to serve it up.
"A lot of parents, teachers, even nutritional staff were kind of hesitant about it at first, because they're like, 'Kids don't like fish,'" said Mary Hudson, director of fisheries programs at the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, which operates the program. "They love it."
Mary Hudson is the director of fisheries programs at the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association. Ryan David Brown for NPR hide caption
toggle caption Ryan David Brown for NPRThe Maine Coast Fishermen's Association has donated more than 1.8 million meals to food banks, schools and other institutions since October 2020. Last year alone, the program gave away over 200,000 meals.
And Hudson said the program could continue to pay dividends for years, as those students grow up and become consumers themselves. "On a selfish note, I'm like, this is creating future markets for us as well," she said.
