As a fisherman in Maine’s groundfish industry‚ Geordie King is used to uncertainty: Once your net is cast‚ you never know what it will haul up when it returns‚ if it returns at all. This unpredictability holds true in general when it comes to the sea‚ which swayed King’s 49-foot‚ teal-hulled gillnetter‚ the Brittany Lynn‚ in gentle rolls as we sat in her wheelhouse‚ the boat’s engine idling beneath our feet. But even for King — who‚ after fishing in the Gulf of Maine for 40 years‚ was used to his work being affected by the volatility of innumerable factors — the abruptness with which the pandemic upended the fishing industry was remarkable. “It pretty much came to a dead stop for several months‚” King remembered‚ his eyes searching somewhere beyond the wheelhouse’s window‚ where the water of Casco Bay sparkled in the tilted winter sun. “The markets momentarily dried up‚ trucking dried up … the whole infrastructure came to a grinding halt. So that basically put a stop to fishing.” Geordie King‚ owner of the Brittany Lynn‚ has been fishing in the Gulf of Maine for 40 years. Credit: Kea Krause It wasn’t the fishing itself that was the problem. In fact‚ many boats were able to safely resume operations within the first year of the pandemic — the coastal breeze supplied adequate air circulation; the open ocean‚ with no land in sight‚ provided ample social distancing. But as Susan Olcott‚ the director of operations of the nonprofit Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA)‚ lays out‚ just about every other aspect of the industry was in crisis. Fishermen “didn’t have a market for their catch. Restaurants were closed and overseas markets were not happening‚” Olcott explains. “It was not profitable for people to keep fishing.”  When the pandemic struck‚ MCFA had already been supporting Maine’s fishermen and working waterfronts for 15 years. And as Olcott‚ along with Ben Martens‚ MCFA’s executive director‚ witnessed the pandemic’s havoc on the community‚ the nonprofit launched a program called Fishermen Feeding Mainers (FFM) to help out people like King as they navigated the unfolding disaster. Using federal COVID relief funding‚ FFM purchased fish at the Portland Fish Exchange from groundfish captains‚ which guaranteed competitive prices. By investing in their fish‚ FFM enabled fishermen to return to work‚ confident that they would receive fair pay for their catch. In turn‚ FFM would make good use of the fish: by donating it to local food banks and the food programs of public school districts.