Maine lobsterman asks Supreme Court to hear GPS tracker case
A Maine lobsterman has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to a state requirement that federally licensed lobster boats carry GPS trackers. The court is set to consider on Sept. 28 whether to hear the case, which could carry broad consequences for the American commercial fishing industry.
Frank Thompson, a Maine lobsterman, filed a federal lawsuit against the head of his state’s marine resources department over the GPS requirement tied to his fishing license. In 2023, the state required all federally permitted lobstermen to install the devices to comply with a new U.S. rule aimed at data collection.
Thompson argued the monitoring amounted to unreasonable search and seizure. A federal appeals court denied his claim last year. He then asked the Supreme Court to review the case.
“The petition asks whether Maine can force lobstermen to carry government GPS trackers on their private boats, even when they are off the job,” said Matt Gilliam, Thompson’s lead attorney. “We are hopeful that the court will grant review and address this important Fourth Amendment question.”
A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Marine Resources declined to comment on Monday. Carl Wilson, the department’s commissioner, said last year that data from lobster boats is important to “mitigate economic harm to the industry” and to inform regulations.
Many U.S. commercial fishermen are monitored at sea by human observers and electronic devices to collect data that regulators say is crucial to keeping the industry and fish populations sustainable. Conservation groups have opposed efforts to scale back monitoring.
“Efforts to overturn a federal appeals court ruling don’t change the fact that New England’s lobster population has declined and fishery managers urgently need reliable and detailed data to respond to the complex issues facing our ocean,” said Erica Fuller, senior counsel with Conservation Law Foundation.
The U.S. lobster industry is based mostly in Maine. Fishermen in the state caught more than 78 million pounds (35.4 million kilograms) of lobster last year, on par with typical annual catches in the 2000s but well below the more than 120 million pounds (54.4 million kilograms) caught a decade ago.
