On February 18, Governor Janet Mills announced that Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher would step down from his position on March 14.
“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.”
Keliher has been with DMR since 2007, when the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission was absorbed into the department and Keliher became director of the Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat. Keliher became acting DMR commissioner in 2011 and was named DMR commissioner in early 2012 by Governor Paul LePage.
“I can’t think of a more challenging job than serving as Maine’s top fisheries regulator,” Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), 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 and always had the industry’s best interests at heart.”
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, Keliher said that the “pinnacle” of his career as commissioner was helping to convince Congress in 2022 to adopt a six-year delay in implementing new rules for protecting North Atlantic right whales. The pause gives the Maine fishery, DMR and the federal government time to generate better scientific data on whether Maine fishing gear has a direct impact on whales.
“DMR whole-heartedly 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,” McCarron said. “Our collaboration helped secure action by Congress that protected Maine’s lobster industry from being shut down by federal whale rules. The MLA is grateful for the Commissioner’s dedication to ensuring a future for Maine lobstermen today and in the future.”
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