ROCKLAND, Maine (AP)   The man who has led the Maine Lobstermen’s Association for nearly three decades says he is stepping down to make way for new leadership.

Sixty-year-old David Cousens, of South Thomaston, has led the association as president for 27 years, but now says resolving new challenges, like lawsuits aimed at protecting whales caught in fishing nets, will be better handled by someone else. The Portland Press Herald reports Cousens also said Tuesday that “it’s time to step back and enjoy life a little bit.”

Cousens will officially step down when the association holds its annual meeting March 2 in conjunction with the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland.

Cousens is the fourth president since the association’s founding in 1954. He says he personally tends to 800 traps as a lobsterman himself.