Ben Martens

Remarks from our 20th Birthday Party, held on January 15, 2026 Over 150 people celebrated with us! Thank you to everyone who came out this evening to celebrate 20 years of MCFA. We have many of our board members here tonight, past and present. I am so appreciative of the time and energy and care that you put into your charge of stewarding our mission, and the empowerment you have shared with our team to go and get stuff done. Thank you to our many partners in the room. Fishermen, nonprofits,...

The outpouring of community support for this recovery effort has been awe-inspiring. And I am proud to say that together, in just one month, we have nearly reached the goal of meeting the need estimated by the affected fishermen. Hundreds of individuals, local businesses, and community groups worked together to raise almost $200,000 in funds to help rebuild. THANK YOU for being part of this caring network.  We closed the fund on Friday, January 30. Final distributions to fishermen will be...

Delectable hake prepared for the Harvard Business School in Cambridge, MA. Groundfish, those flaky white fish like cod, haddock, and flounder, were the founding fishery that jumpstarted the effort to build the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association 19 years ago. As such, a large part of our ongoing work is focused on building stability and opportunity into this fishery. If you were to look at the price per pound that fishermen were paid last year for groundfish species vs what they were paid in...