The owners of the Boothbay Harbor Country Club and Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort, Paul and Giselaine Coulombe, on Sunday donated $20,000 to a COVID-19 relief fund for fishermen, organized by the nonprofit Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation.
The foundation has raised an additional $5,000 and has also received a $25,000 matching grant, according to a news release.
With $50,000 in all, the foundation will disburse $500 gifts to 100 lobstermen, and has already received over 120 applications. The nonprofit will select recipients on Wednesday and begin sending checks on Thursday.
“Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation has worked hard to raise money for lobstermen and women,” the Coulombes said in the release. “We know that they have received a lot of smaller donations from hard-working people who care deeply about their communities. The lobstermen and women are important contributors to the working waterfront and we are glad to be able to help them at this time.”
The foundation’s executive director, Crystal Canney, said the lobstering community faces a host of challenges. They include getting product to market during the pandemic, the tariffs imposed by China, high bait prices, large aquaculture leases, and potential new regulations designed to protect North Atlantic right whales.
Donations to the fund will continue to be accepted until Thursday.
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage is a statewide nonprofit coalition working to protect Maine’s fishing heritage.
Paul Coulombe, a Lewiston native who has a house near Boothbay, on Southport Island, sold his Pinnacle Vodka and Calico Jack brands to Beam Inc. for $605 million in 2012. He has since invested $150 million of his own money in two golf resorts, five B&Bs, a lighthouse converted to an inn and other real estate in the Boothbay region.