In addition to nominating Darryl Brown to head Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Gov. Paul LePage also named two other cabinet appointees. Norman Olsen is his choice to head the state Department of Marine Resources and Philip Congdon to lead the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The governor joked that Olsen's experience as a foreign diplomat should serve him well in mediating concerns among Maine fishermen.
Olsen says Maine's fishing industry is in dire need of revitalization. "Our once widely-diversified and vertically-intergrated fisheries and processing sectors have deteriorated over the years, costing us critical employment in our coastal communities," Olsen said. "As Gov. LePage has clearly stated, we have both the opportunity and the obligation to the people of Maine to provide the regulatory and investment climate, as well as the prudent fisheries resource management, that would allow us to build a truly sustainable marine resources industry."
Olsen is a former commercial fisherman who has management experience with the American Original clam processing company, and who is a former member of the New England Fisheries Management Council. He says part of his strategy will be an empasis on seafood processing.
And that sounds good to Jonesport fisherman Ernest Kelly, Jr. "I think that a change would be good," he says. "I don't think you can have one guy forever. You know, you've got to get a different outlook on it."