PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   A group charged with promoting lobster for the state of Maine has a new leader.

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative has appointed Marianne LaCroix as the new executive director of the organization. She has been serving as the interim director of the group since the previous leader, Matt Jacobson, stepped down in February.

LaCroix served as the group’s head of marketing since its inception in 2013 before becoming the interim head. She says she plans to further the collaborative’s goal of “spreading the word about Maine lobster as a premium product.” Maine is the biggest lobster fishing state in the country, though it competes with Canada’s large fishery for the same species.

The collaborative is funded by fees paid by members of the lobster industry.