Women in Fisheries: Patrice McCarron

Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, does not shy away from hard work. Whether it’s long-distance running, Cross Fit training, or overseeing the MLA for nearly 26 years, McCarron commits herself to what she does without reservation.

Her work ethic comes in part from her upbringing. “I grew up in Woburn (Massachusetts). Woburn was a blue-collar town. Everyone’s parents worked. I had a paper route as a kid, I bagged groceries when I was 14. My sisters and I paid for our own stuff as kids,” she said.

Her parents were fortunate to be able to buy a winterized home in York in the late 1960s when houses along its coast were still affordable. “It was our family’s favorite place. We’d go a couple weeks in the summer. By the time I was in college we stayed all summer and I worked as a lifeguard,” McCarron said.

"I don't think people understand how much care the MLA takes to get it right and be transparent. We are real people working really hard to protect the fishery,"

She attended the University of Maine, graduating in 1991. She then signed up for the Peace Corps for two years, working on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia. Afterward she went to graduate school at the University of Vermont where she studied natural resource planning. McCarron’s thesis focused on the establishment of Maine’s Lobster Zone Council system, which was put into place by the Maine Legislature in 1996.

“The lobster fishery and the zone council system resonated with my values. The hard work of lobstermen, their view of the world were an unspoken natural fit for me,” McCarron said. She recognized that as a person without any family connections to the fishery or to the Gulf of Maine in general, she could not truly understand the realities faced by commercial fishermen. But she wanted to know more.

“I talked to Ted Ames for hours, who explained so much about the industry. I went to meetings, listened to Bob Steneck talk about his lobster research. I started to learn about the fishery,” McCarron said.

She realized that the black-and-white world view promulgated in her conservation studies did not describe what she was experiencing. “The people I met hunted and fished. Lobstermen caught food. It was something I had never been exposed to before. The fishery was the perfect model of conservation and economy,” she said.

After graduate school McCarron worked in the conservation department of the New England Aquarium for several years. There she met and became friends with MLA executive director Pat White of York. “I organized lobster management seminars at the Fishermen’s Forum. That’s when I met Pat,” she recalled.

In 2000 White asked McCarron to come to the MLA as associate director. White had become executive director in 1992 with South Thomaston lobsterman David Cousens as president. “I was hired to professionalize the organization, to create the record. Pat and Dave knew everyone. They knew how to get things done,” McCarron said. “I was hired to be the person in the back room. Pat was so charming and Dave was so sharp. I had no desire to be out in front.”

In 2001, McCarron became MLA executive director. Now, she was out front.

Beginning in the 2000s, the Maine lobster fishery found itself beset by issues never imagined in previous decades. Among the most threatening was the issue of right whale protection. McCarron quickly entered into discussions at the Large Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT) meetings where contentious debates over regulations taught her the value of carefully listening to fishermen so she could convey their passion for their fishery to managers. She was also a founding member of the state’s Working Waterfront Coalition, organized an International Lobstermen’s Exchange with lobstermen around the world, managed a two-year business diversification program for lobstermen through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, worked with others on establishing a new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, and spearheaded restrictions on spraying pesticides that could affect lobster larvae along the coast.

She and the MLA board were pulled in many directions.

“My role is to give the board information. They are the ones grinding away on the water every day so they set the policy direction. I translate what they think and say into policy. It’s crazy how much I’ve learned from them over the years,” McCarron said. “As the issues have become more complicated, we’ve all had to evolve over the years to keep pace with the pressures on the fishery.”

As a membership-supported organization, the MLA often found itself constrained by its small staff and budget when faced with complicated and expensive issues. On the other hand, its small size meant it did not stray from its members’ concerns. “There is something sacred about the MLA being so grassroots. The board is firmly in the driver’s seat and that’s one of the things I’ve fought for,” McCarron added.

While working as MLA executive director and attending hundreds of meetings, legislative sessions and other time-intensive duties, McCarron and her husband David raised two children in Kennebunk. “It’s hard to be away from young kids, you feel a little bit of guilt,” she said. “My kids admire that I work and they have pride in themselves because they learned to do things, like cook and do their laundry. In the end it’s been kind of a blessing. My children are very independent. And they see that I deal with a lot of conflict. People yell at me and I’m fine. That’s a powerful lesson for kids — they’ve learned to be confident and stand up for themselves.”

McCarron’s work ethic has not diminished over the years. Despite the MLA’s historic legal victory in 2023, which she describes as the most intense and demanding work the MLA has ever done for the industry, the battle to ensure the lobster fishery remains open and profitable remains front-and-center in the minds of MLA board members and McCarron.

With new federal whale rules looming on the horizon in 2028, the MLA is poised to enter that fight yet again. “I don’t think people understand how much care the MLA takes to get it right and be transparent. We are real people working really hard to protect the fishery,” she said.

What does McCarron want in the future? “I want to be replaceable,” she said, laughing. “I want the MLA to be stable, financially secure, and have the resources it needs. We’ve done a lot of organizational work and are set up for success no matter who is on the staff or the board. We’ve stood the test for 72 years. It’s my job to make sure we are around for a hundred more.”