Relationships Are Key: Reflections from Former DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher

“It was trial by fire the first couple of years. In the lobster fishery things changed fast in 2012,” recalled Pat Keliher, 58, who retired as Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner in March this year. Keliher was the longest serving Commissioner in the Department’s history, holding the position since 2012.

Pat Keliher and two of his hunting dogs. Photo courtesy of D. Gilbert.

That was the year when the Gulf of Maine became unusually warm in the early spring. Maine lobstermen were finding soft-shell lobsters in their traps in May, a first for many. At the same time lobster landings in the Maritime provinces ticked up sharply. Lobster buyers on both sides of the border scrambled to sell all these early season lobsters. Inevitably, boat prices sank like a stone. The state’s lobstermen called on Keliher to do something to stabilize the price, an action outside of the department’s statutory authority.

“There was a lot of chaos then, but there was a lot of chaos at different times in different fisheries,” Keliher admitted in his characteristically dry manner.

DMR is a multi-armed agency. It is charged with managing a dazzling number of commercially valuable marine species, everything from alewives to marine worms, as well as recreational fisheries and sea-run species such as eels. It regulates all aquaculture leases in the state and conducts a broad array of scientific monitoring programs related to dozens of marine species. The state’s numerous fishing laws are enforced by the Marine Patrol Bureau, with divisions spread along the coast. The department’s overarching goal is to balance protecting Maine’s marine resources with fostering healthy commercial fisheries as well. “We are regulators, but we also advocate for fishermen,” Keliher said. “It’s a difficult role.”

Keliher took a pragmatic approach to this goal from the start. “You have to roll your sleeves up and talk to individuals. You have to be blunt on what is happening and hope you receive blunt feedback in return,” he said. “These are tough discussions.”

One of the first rounds of “tough discussions” Keliher led concerned the state’s elver fishery. The price per pound for the tiny eels skyrocketed in the mid-2000s. The fishery was prone to illegal sales; fights broke out on favored fishing sites. As the price rose above $1,000 per pound, landings rose sharply. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which sets the management plan for the elver fishery, grew alarmed by overfishing.

“The ASMFC said that they wanted to close the fishery. We said we can make it work,” Keliher said. He spent time with elver fishermen and buyers, drafted different management measures, and discussed the pros and cons with fishermen.

A new system was created, setting a cap on the number of licenses and a swipe card system for elver purchases and sales. Fishermen grumbled loudly for the first few years but as the fishery recovered, the muttering quieted down. “We were able in a three-year period to build a $20 million fishery that prior to that was on its way out the door,” Keliher said.

Keliher takes pride in the agency’s efforts to improve habitat for river herring in the state. DMR helped with the restoration of the Kennebec, St. Croix, and Penobscot rivers for the anadromous fish by removing dams and building fish passages. “We now have the biggest runs of river herring on the east coast. Local towns are building fishways. It all adds up,” he said.

Maine’s lobster fishery faced a different set of problems during Keliher’s tenure. The fishery boomed throughout the 2000’s, reaching its peak landings of 132.6 million pounds in 2016. Despite increasing costs for bait and fuel during those years, many lobstermen did well financially, buying larger boats and moving offshore to lobster.

Then North Atlantic right whales began to die. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) declared an “unusual mortality” event in 2017. National environmental organizations went to court, calling upon provisions in the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act to force NMFS to do more to protect the endangered whales. Maine lobstermen were told that they would have to reduce the risk their gear posed to right whales by 90%. A new Biological Opinion and whale conservation plan released in May 2022 called for even stricter measures that would effectively close the Maine fishery in order to protect right whales. Maine’s most valuable commercial fishery was under mortal threat.

The DMR, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and other groups took action, working with the state’s Congressional delegation in a last-minute push to prevent the fishery’s likely 2023 closure.

It worked. The Omnibus federal funding bill, approved by Congress in late December 2022, included a policy rider that halted implementation of new whale rules for six years, until December 2028. Congress declared that the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries were in compliance with the two federal laws and also authorized $50 million for scientific research, monitoring and technology development to address questions lobstermen had been asking about right whales for years.

“That was the pinnacle of my career,” Keliher said quietly. He credits collaboration among many players with the six-year regulatory pause as well as the connections built over the years between DMR and the Congressional delegation. “The relationships are key. They pay dividends,” he said.

The Gulf of Maine continues to warm; lobster landings in Maine have slowly declined since the 2016 peak. The fishery remained strong as it weathered the economic fallout of the Covid pandemic, changing global markets, decreased bait availability and ever-growing costs. Then the ASMFC passed Addendum 27 in 2023, which mandated a lobster gauge increase in LMA 1 in the event that multiple surveys indicated a decline in sublegal lobsters. In October that year, ASMFC called for that increase to be implemented at the beginning of 2024.

In face of vigorous opposition by Maine lobstermen and after delaying the implementation date three times, ASFMC is voting this month on rescinding the gauge and vent increases altogether.

Keliher spent long hours talking with lobstermen about the goal of the gauge increase, which was to protect the Gulf of Maine lobster stock now, by allowing more lobsters to reproduce before being caught. Those discussions were often angry. Lobstermen did not see the need to take any action.

“We needed to make tough decision on the lobster gauge,” Keliher reflected. “That was hard and frustrating.” He understood that lobstermen were seeing juveniles in their traps but he also knew that the scientific surveys correctly reflected changes in the stock. Taking steps now to ensure the future fishery remained strong and profitable seemed to be common sense.

“A huge group of lobstermen came up in a time when the fishery was expanding. They never have been regulated,” he commented. “We all need to think more about the future, not just tomorrow. What about the young kids?”

“DMR science is the best in the fishery. You can’t just say NO to the science,” he said. “Lobstermen all have to find ways to work together to protect the resource for the future. Don’t let this unbelievable fishery go away.”

Going to the office was never a burden over the years, according to Keliher. He built a good team of colleagues at the agency and helped put the department on a solid footing both in terms of budget and programs. He commends the science conducted by DMR staff, much of which can be used by the department to counter proposed federal actions.

Keliher has no specific plans for the next phase of his working life. Right now, at home in Alna life is peaceful. This summer, Keliher says, “I’m going to train dogs and go fishing.”