The appearance of Maine’s top lobstering official at New England’s largest fishing convention has gone largely unnoticed for 49 years – until this year.
When the Maine Fishermen’s Forum celebrates its jubilee 50th year as the northeast’s biggest fishing gathering this week in Rockport on Thursday, all eyes will be on Patrick Keliher.
As the state’s outgoing commissioner of marine resources, Keliher “will provide an update on potential regulation changes in the industry,” the forum announced.
But as he does so, Keliher will be making his final marquee public appearance at the convention just 13 days before he leaves office under a political cloud.
His boss, Gov. Janet Mills, announced earlier this week that the state’s longest-ever-serving top fisheries official will be “retiring” March 14.
Keliher’s “retirement” will come just over two months after he yelled an obscenity at a lobsterman during a public meeting about, yes, “regulation changes” governing the minimum-allowed size for trapping lobsters.
The commissioner told the lobsterman “f- you” when he accused Kelleher of being in bed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Keliher ended up issuing an apology a day after the raucous public hearing that saw him in the shocking fiery public exchange with the aggrieved fisherman.
Ironically, the Maine Fishermen’s Forum is one of the few industry conventions – If not the only one – that actually has a code of conduct.
The code, among other requirements, forbids such things as “verbal assaults.”
“It is a violation of the Code of Conduct for any attendee to engage in conduct that is offensive, threatening or prejudicial to the welfare, best interest, or character of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum or its attendees, or contrary to the rules or Bylaws of the Forum.
“Such prohibited conduct includes but is not limited to any form of physical or verbal assault, bullying, including cyber-bullying, and/or harassment.”
The code says any allegations of misconduct will be investigated by the forum’s board of directors.
Keliher has been in the top job since 2012, longer than any of his predecessors.
One of them, former commissioner Robin Alden, who is a co-founder of the popular fishermen’s forum, is also slated to be at the convention that gets underway Thursday.
I can only imagine what it must be like to be in Janet Mills’ upper management.