Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Carl Wilson presented Chris Welch of Kennebunk the annual “DMR Andy Mays Award of Excellence” at the recent Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport.

According to a DMR news release, during the presentation Commissioner Wilson praised Welch, Chairman of Maine’s lobster management Zone G Council, for his work with lobstermen in southern Maine to implement a rapid and coordinated response during last winter’s unprecedented aggregation of North Atlantic Right Whales (NARWs) near Jeffreys Ledge.

“Chris was instrumental in bringing lobstermen to the table to craft a solution to avoid entangling the nearly 100 NARWs, while allowing fishermen to keep gear in the water,” said Commissioner Wilson.

“This was a unique challenge that had no playbook,” said Commissioner Wilson. “Chris brought lobstermen together to work with DMR on a plan that relied on a combination of NARW sightings data from survey teams across the region including DMR’s whale monitoring program and data from vessel trackers on federally permitted lobster vessels to identify areas that had the highest risk of entanglement in lobster gear.

“Chris helped coordinate a meeting with fishermen and DMR staff within days of the first sighting of the whale aggregation in January to develop a novel solution involving fishermen dropping one of two vertical lines on their string of traps,” said Commissioner Wilson. “Lobstermen leaned into this challenge and proactively developed a plan to reduce entanglement risk.”

Throughout the NARW’s range survey scientists from many organizations document most of the individuals in the population each year and, to date, no entanglements of any whales from the aggregation have been observed.

“The input of fishermen to craft an out-of-the-box solution has paved the way for future efforts to manage risk to this endangered species in a way that also protects the livelihoods of Maine lobstermen,” said Commissioner Wilson.  

“Chris is a natural born leader. He’s been on the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) board since 2016 and currently serves on the MLA executive board, providing strategic guidance for MLA. His ability to think critically and work collaboratively to solve complex problems has benefited this industry for years,” said Commissioner Wilson.

The award is named for Southwest Harbor fisherman Andy Mays who passed away in 2017, but who left an important legacy of participation in the management and regulatory process, according to the DMR.