Inside the DMR: The Bureau of Marine Patrol

First published in Landings, January 2013.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources plays many roles in the state’s management of its myriad marine resources: law enforcer, investor, researcher, policy analyst, mediator. To some it is ‘interfering government,’ to others it’s a source of funding, to still others a partner in scientific understanding. In this issue we begin a new series that explores the many facets of the DMR and the future challenges the department may face.

Anyone in the lobster business has a fairly good idea of what today’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) means to Maine’s marine resources – research, conservation, management and enforcement of regulations all fall under the purview of this relatively small state agency. It may surprise some to learn that in the early days, the agency known as the Sea and Shore Fisheries Commission in essence was a state enforcement agency, consisting of two or three “fish wardens” appointed by the governor -- 50 years or so before the creation of the Maine State Police!

The agency started out slow and small in the 1800s and expanded with the demands of the fisheries. On a budget of $200 per year, the early fish wardens traveled long coastal routes to examine the sea-run fish populations and weirs, nets or dams that might impede passage to spawning grounds, an early regulatory effort that speaks to Maine’s longstanding conservation ethic. They inspected sardine packing plants to ensure proper weight and quality of product, and were paid by the number of containers inspected.

In the mid-1950s, issues of industry development, research and marketing gave birth to the DMR we know today, with scientists, researchers and two dozen coastal wardens who upheld marine statutes.

Today, the Bureau of Marine Patrol (BMP) is the enforcement arm of the DMR, a stalwart contingent of fully-trained law enforcement officers charged with upholding state fishing and boating laws, and by virtue of a Joint Enforcement Agreement (JEA) with the National Marine Fisheries Service, deputized to enforce federal whale protection regulations.

The bureau’s Colonel, Major and sea-plane pilot have offices in Hallowell, overseeing operations and coordinating with the two Division lieutenants in Boothbay Harbor and Lamoine. Each Division is comprised of three sections with one or two specialists, who captain the large enforcement vessels, and several officers who crew for the large vessels or cover their territory with smaller patrol vessels and specially equipped four-wheel drive trucks. The entire 3,500-mile coastline of Maine and its islands is covered by no more than 50 officers, though the force is rarely at full complement these days due to budget constraints.

Colonel Joe Fessenden, BMP chief, started as a coastal warden in 1975 in South Bristol and still has “soft spot for that area,” he said. In the nearly forty years of his career, he believes that the element that has changed the most in Maine marine resources has been the move from open to limited access fishing. Whereas once anyone with a license could fish for anything he wanted, current regulations on who can fish vary depending on the fishery. Since it is the bureau’s job to check compliance and licensing, the impact on enforcement has been considerable.

If there is one thing he’d like people to know about the bureau, it’s that the officers are trained to promote voluntary compliance with the laws. “Community compliance is what we strive for,” he explained, so officers are encouraged to be “user friendly,” becoming part of the commercial fishing world and investing in its success. “Open lines of communication are in the best interest of fishermen and Patrol,” Fessenden said.

Most of the BMP’s $6 million budget is from the state’s general fund (63%), with the remainder comprised of dedicated funds from the JEA and United States Coast Guard for boating and federal whale regulations. Very little of the budget is secured through licensing fees.

Being a Marine Patrol Officer is not for the faint of heart. Recruits are met with a tall order of job expectations and submit to the same training and testing as any state police officer. “We’re really the state of Maine’s Navy, so to speak – helping any state agency with issues along the coast like untaxed cigarettes on an island, tax collection for vessel purchases, transportation to the islands, you name it,” Fessenden said. “We are on the front line with the Maine Emergency Management Agency on any disaster or public safety issues along the coast, and often need to work with the state medical examiner’s office to help bring resolution to the family [of persons lost at sea]”.

According to one officer, the job is rewarding by definition. “I enjoy dealing with fishermen,” said specialist Mike Neelon, who captains the P/V Challenge II out of South Portland. Fessenden believes that that his officers are proud of their relationship with the fishing industry, and rely on support from industry to do their job well. “They’re good people,” he said simply.