February 27, 2025 — Governor Janet Mills is nominating Maine’s former lead lobster biologist to be state’s top fisheries regulator.
Carl Wilson has worked at the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) for 26 years, first leading the state’s lobster research and monitoring programs. He currently leads the Bureau of Marine Science, which recently launched a new program dedicated to the study of right whales in the Gulf of Maine.
“His vast knowledge and experience in the science, policy and economics of Maine’s marine resource industries, combined with the strong relationships and mutual respect he has developed with Mainers who make a living on the water over his 26 years at DMR, will serve him well as the department’s next leader,” Mills said in a statement announcing Wilson’s nomination.
Wilson will replace Pat Keliher, who recently announced his retirement from the department in mid-March following high-profile tensions with the state’s lobster industry.