More information about the cookbook below. Please email us your recipes by June 24.
We are not currently accepting pre-orders but you can sign up to be notified by joining our e-mail list HERE and click the top right corner that says "Join our e-mail list."
Two fishermen’s wives, Monique Coombs and Rebecca Spear, are working together to collect seafood recipes, photos, and stories, to create the Maine Coast Fishing Families Seafood Cookbook. Together they will share the flavor of opportunities that Maine’s seafood has to offer and proceeds will benefit the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA).
Similar cookbooks have been done in the past in Maine. One such cookbook was The Maine Fishermen’s Wives Association Seafood Cookbook, which benefitted the wives’ efforts to promote the importance of the fishing industry. Their reasoning for the effort is noted in the cookbook and it states, “A small group of wives decided they could increase their awareness of the industry by combining efforts… They were then able to supply current information to their husbands, represent them at meetings, keep in touch with their government representatives, and help conduct the land-side of the business as efficiently as possible.” The group also conducted efforts to increase recognition of the Maine fishing industry by starting the Portland Blessing of the Fleet, and a large part of their efforts were to promote seafood, “especially the under-utilized species.”
Their advocacy work is like the work conducted by the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association today. MCFA’s goal is to ensure that Maine's fishing communities can thrive today, tomorrow, and forever. MCFA does this by advocating for policies and regulations that create healthy and sustainable fisheries, securing access to the working waterfront, attending meetings on behalf of fishermen, and promoting the businesses owned and operated by Maine fishermen.
“I'm so excited about this project,” says Rebecca Spear. “For years I've been using my Fishermen's Wives Cookbook and daydreamed about resurrecting the tradition. This is going to be an amazing collaboration celebrating the fishing community and showcasing local seafood with timeless and salty recipes. The best part is that all proceeds will benefit the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, supporting their efforts to continue to conserve Maine's working waterfront and family fishing businesses.”
The deadline to submit your seafood recipes is June 24 and they can be sent to monique@aragostamama.com or rebeccarspear@gmail.com.
The cookbook will be done in time for the holiday season.
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Monique Coombs is the founder of Aragosta Mama which is a small business that highlights the culture and communities inspired by commercial fishing families, a Mom of two, and is married to a fisherman. Monique is also the director of marine programs for the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association.
Rebecca Spear is a Mom of three, married to a fisherman, has an active blog, Mainely Mama, that shares her parenting journey, mom style, exercise tips, and stories from her life in Maine.
