The top fisheries regulator in the U.S. state of Maine is set to retire after more than a decade on the job.
Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher has announced his retirement, effective 14 March. First appointed in 2012 and then reappointed in 2019, Keliher is the longest-serving DMR commissioner in Maine’s history.
"After nearly 14 years of dealing with the challenges facing Maine's marine resources, it's not the issues I remember most; it's the people,” Keliher said in a statement. "The issues facing the marine sector are ones not easily solved, which means rolling up your sleeves and having tough conversations about how people make a living on the water and about what Maine has to offer. Through the good times and the bad, I have made lasting friendships up and down the coast. This work and the success of the DMR was made possible only through the hard work and dedication of our employees. I leave this job humbled by these friendships and by my extraordinarily talented staff who I was blessed to work with every day."
Keliher was lauded for his oversight of Maine’s commercial fishing sector by industry representatives and Maine’s top elected officials, including Governor Janet Mills.
"Commissioner Keliher – Pat – has served this administration and the people of Maine with great distinction. Under his leadership, he tackled many significant challenges to Maine's commercial fisheries and marine industries, while leading an agency that served its many communities and constituencies with honesty and respect," Mills said. "Maine's commercial fisheries and seafood industries, our marine environment, our working waterfronts, and our coastal communities are better today because of Pat's relentless advocacy for Maine.
Along with his position as commissioner, Keliher also served as chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and was a member of the commission’s Lobster Management Board, the New England Fisheries Management Council, and the Board of the Finance Authority of Maine. He also served as chair of the Land for Maine's Future program.
Keliher was the key state overseer of Maine’s commercial lobster fishery during a tumultuous period; in 2021, NOAA Fisheries released a biological opinion that required more onerous rules on lobster fishers to prevent right whale entanglements.
Both Mills and Keliher worked to oppose the new regulations, and the biological opinion was ultimately rolled back by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Keliher also worked with Maine’s congressional delegation to pass a six-year pause on new federal whale regulations becoming law. In a statement, U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) credited Keliher with helping defeat federal regulations.
"Pat has been a tireless advocate for Maine's fishing industry and marine resources. His expertise and advice were critical to our successful effort in Congress to pause the onerous whale regulations put in place by NOAA that threatened Maine's lobster industry," U.S. Senator Susan Collins said.
The sentiment was seconded by Maine Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director Patrice McCarron.
"I can't think of a more challenging job than serving as Maine's top fisheries regulator,” McCarron said. "Commissioner Keliher guided the Maine lobster industry through some of its toughest times. Though we didn't always agree, he made the effort to listen, engage in conversation, and always had the industry's best interests at heart. This was especially evident in 2022 when the DMR wholeheartedly backed the MLA's court case against the National Marine Fisheries Service to challenge whale regulations that would have decimated our industry. Together, we achieved a historic victory.”
Mills has not yet nominated a successor to Keliher. Any nominee will also need to be confirmed by the Maine State Senate.
