A Maine lobsterman is continuing his fight against a GPS tracking mandate, hoping to bring the case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Frank Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman from Vinalhaven, and the Florida-based Pacific Legal Foundation jointly petitioned the Supreme Court this month to hear an appeal in his federal district court case.
Since late 2023, federally permitted lobster boats on the East Coast have been required to have a global positioning system (GPS) transmitter aboard at all times. The federal Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission enacted the mandate to collect data about fisheries stock and aid in conservation efforts, including for endangered whales.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources later adopted the mandate, which also collects data for “emerging ocean uses, and enforcement.”
Thompson and four other Maine fishermen sued the Maine DMR in 2024 over the mandate, saying it violated their Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure.
A federal judge upheld the department’s right to track the fishing vessels claiming an exception to the Fourth Amendment for a “closely regulated industry” like lobstering, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation.
“Under this rule, lobstermen like Frank are being subjected to unending, invasive surveillance — and threatened with the loss of their licenses and livelihoods to force compliance,” said Mark Miller, director of environment and natural resources litigation at Pacific Legal Foundation.
