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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 32 Number 12
July 2005
White to retire as ME Lobstermen’s Association CEO
 KENNEBUNK, ME – So the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” And that time has come for Pat White, who has decided to wrap up his tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) effective Dec. 31.
White made the announcement at an MLA board meeting in Woolwich on June 13.
“It’s time,” he said. “I’m 65 years old. I really want to spend more time with my family and on my personal life, and the MLA will be better served by getting some new blood.”
White was officially hired by the MLA as executive director on Jan. 1, 1992, but he had begun transitioning into that job even before then, working side-by-side with MLA President David Cousens.
In a move that further strengthened the leadership team, the MLA board hired Patrice McCarron to be executive director in November 2001 and White took on the CEO role.
According to McCarron, the full board will meet in Belfast on July 11 to discuss, among other things, how best to redistribute White’s numerous responsibilities, especially his role as the MLA’s representative on the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT) and as the association’s federal and congressional liaison charged with maintaining close ties to government officials in Washington, DC.
While nothing is settled yet, the MLA may not hire another CEO. McCarron and White both indicated that individual board members and the board itself might end up playing a more active role in representing the MLA, especially on whale issues.
“It really demands a harvester to be active on that TRT, someone who knows gear and how it works,” said McCarron. “You need to be able to negotiate on the fly in that arena. We’d like to have a board member do that.”
White said he would continue to cover issues under the jurisdiction of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). He is the Maine governor’s appointee to the commission and still has roughly a year-and-a-half left in his current term.
Plus, he’s chairman of ASMFC’s American Lobster Management Board – the first working lobsterman to hold that position – and he intends to continue in that capacity.
According to McCarron, the MLA will acutely feel the loss when White steps down.
“Pat’s contributions to the organization have been huge,” she said. “He set such a high standard for everyone and showed such grace under pressure.
“His connections outside of the state have been so valuable,” she added. “We’re so highly regarded. People respect the MLA and look to us a model, and that’s because Pat carried us so well. These are big shoes to fill.”
Yet McCarron said the MLA will move on and, as always, continue to fiercely represent its members.
“Things will definitely change,” she said. “But that’s OK.”
Janice M. Plante
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