“Art. Auction. Appetizers.” Nothing like telling it straight with the name of a fundraiser! The 75 guests at the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association event Jan. 25 at The Press Hotel didn’t expect to be surprised. And yet they were.

“That has to be the best scallop I’ve ever had,” said Pam Hadley, who was visiting from Plymouth, Mass. “Talk about succulent. And such understated elegance.”

Everyone raved about the super-sized bacon-wrapped scallops, caught by MCFA Board President Alex Todd off Chebeague Island and prepared by UNION executive chef Christian Bassett.

“The Press Hotel and UNION restaurant do a great job of featuring local seafood, and their chef is showing off tonight with local scallops, fish and lobster,” said MCFA Executive Director Ben Martens. “They reached out to us and were interested in supporting fishermen. We’ve also been doing a project with National Geographic photographer David McLain to show off the people of the working waterfront and tell their stories of working on the water, on the shores and in the mud.”

The nine photos exhibited in the hotel’s downstairs gallery show the skill, strength and fortitude of Maine fishermen and lobstermen — including Jocelyn Coombs, a 19-year-old from Orrs Island who co-owns Next Generation Lobster Co. with her 15-year-old brother Riley.

“I think it is important for people to see what fishing is really like and who fishermen are,” she said. “Fishing is a different way of life and it’s hard work.”

At its inception in 2006, MCFA was focused on giving fishermen a voice in regulatory policy.

“It’s hard to fish and stay on top of legislation, when meetings are in the middle of the day when most of us are fishing,” said Seth Walker, who fishes for scallops and lobster off the coast of Harpswell.

Over the past six years, MCFA has expanded its mission to include storytelling to expand community awareness and support, developing mental health and wellness programs for fishing families, and growing markets for types of seafood not as commonly sought by buyers.

“We got support from Full Plates Full Potential to try to get more seafood into our local schools,” Martens said. “We’ve started working with some partners on fish cakes featuring flounder, an underutilized species in Maine. We have some of those to sample tonight. We’ve also been sampling these in schools, and we’ve got kids picking fish cakes over pizza for school lunch. It’s a great way to stabilize markets for local fisherman, and kids get healthy protein that’s delicious.”

Between ticket sales and a silent auction, the event raised $5,000 to support MCFA’s work. The photos will be exhibited through March.

Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer based in Scarborough. She can be reached at amyparadysz@gmail.com.