January 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. Commercial Fishing News News from the Maine Department of Marine Resourses


Colonel Fessenden to Retire after 40 Years in the Maine Marine Patrol Colonel Joe Fessenden, who began his career in the Maine Marine Patrol in 1975, will retire in January after 40 years enforcing Maine’s marine resources laws while build- ing relations with the communities in which he worked.


“Colonel Fessenden’s four decades of service and leadership in the Maine Marine Patrol have been greatly appreciated by the people of Maine,” said Governor Paul R. LePage. “Through his commitment to Maine’s commercial fi shing and seafood industries and the coastal communities they support, Colonel Fessenden has established a legacy that will long be a standard of ex- cellence for Maine’s Marine Patrol.” “It has been my privilege to work with Colonel Fessenden,” said Department of Marine of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “His leadership has made the Marine Patrol stronger and better po- sitioned for the unique challenges of law enforcement along the Maine coast.” Colonel Fessenden will be replaced by Major Jon Cornish, a 30-year veteran of the Marine Patrol who has served as Deputy Chief since 2013. Fessenden fi rst became interested in a career in Marine Patrol as a result of the conversations he had with family friend Fred Reeves, a Game Warden who lived near his family on outer Essex Street in Bangor. “He used to stop by the house all the time. He was in uniform and looked sharp. To a little kid he looked impressive,” said Colonel Fessenden.


“I was talking to him one time and he asked me what I liked to do and I told him I was really interested in working on the coast and he brought up the Department of Sea and Shore Fisheries.” That reference to what would years later become the Maine Department of Marine Resources sparked a lifelong interest for Fessenden.


After graduating from Bangor High School in 1971, a job making delivery runs for Jordan Meats not only took him to the coast, it also set him fi rmly on his career


path. “I ran across a lot of fi shermen that worked in downeast Maine and came across Sea and Shore Fisheries Wardens. Whenever I got a chance I would talk to them about the job and it sounded pretty interesting to me.” With the single-minded determination that would characterize his career, he en- rolled in the Law Enforcement program at the University of Maine at Bangor. Graduating two years later, he was still too young, at twenty, to be hired for work in law enforcement. So he took a job with the Department of Agriculture, biding his time until he became eligible at twenty-one to work in law enforcement.


“I immediately applied for the state police and for a position as a Coastal War- den, but I was most interested in the Coastal Warden Service,” said Fessenden. After successfully completing both the physical aptitude test and the written examination, he was placed on the register for the Coastal Warden position.


Fessenden got a letter inviting him to come in for an oral board which was the fi nal step on his quest to work as a Coastal Warden.


In May of 1975 he got another letter, this time on department stationary with a job offer. “I felt overwhelmed. I felt proud,” said Fessenden. That pride quickly turned into determination to meet and exceed expecta- tions throughout his career.


“I said to myself, I have this opportu- nity and I’m going to give it my all,” said Fessenden. A year later, the law enforcement role of Coastal Wardens was acknowledged when all wardens were sent to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. “Up until then, Coastal Wardens were sent to conservation law training,” said Fessenden.


The change in training included a name change for the bureau. “That’s when our name changed from Coastal Warden Service to Marine Patrol.”


The training paid off, giving Fessenden the skills and knowledge to deal with the occasional physical confrontation or with armed violators. “I was still a conservation offi cer but the training I got at the academy


JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard


made me feel more confi dent in the job,” said Fessenden. Throughout his career he combined the training he received at the academy with on the job training that placed an emphasis on relationship building. He quickly rose through the ranks, re- ceiving a promotion to Sergeant, then Lieu- tenant in southern Maine, where, for twenty years, he balanced the sometimes competing roles of confi dant and law enforcement pro- fessional. “I became part of the community. I went to funerals, and weddings. But I never crossed that line between being an enforcer and a friend of a fi sherman,” he said. His ability to strike that balance com- bined with a strong work ethic resulted in many violations for law breakers, as well as the respect from industry. “I spent a tre- mendous amount of time on surveillances, so when you were fi nally able to apprehend somebody who was out stealing from anoth- er fi sherman it was a good feeling. Industry appreciated it,” he said.


The long hours were not without their drawbacks. “My family sacrifi ced a lot not having me with them and I know it was especially hard on my two children Kayla and Joseph.”


But his hard work has won him the re- spect of peers and industry. He was recently presented the 2014 US Coast Guard Meri- torious Public Service Award, an honor he received once before in 1996. Fessenden has also been presented the Maine Lobstermen’s Association Offi cer of the Year Award and the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine Award


Continued on Page 20.


Rockland, Maine • 207-596-7060 info@jboatworks.com • jboatworks.com


Saving the Gill-Netter PHYLLIS A. 2014 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD


Over 800 photographs from all 2014 lobster boat races. $12.50, which includes postage.


To order: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME, 04496 or call (207) 223-8846 and charge to your credit card.


The Phyllis A. Marine Association - A non-profi t organization dedicated to the preservation of the former gill-netter PHYLLIS A., built at Kennebunkport in 1925, and worked by the Arnold family out of Gloucester for 75 years. To help call (978) 391-3901 or visit their website: www.phyllis-a.org. All donations are tex deductible.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31