Supreme Court to Weigh Maine Lobsterman's GPS Tracker Challenge

The Supreme Court is set to decide this month whether it will take up a Maine lobsterman's challenge to a state requirement that boats carry electronic tracking devices — a case that could carry wide consequences for commercial fishing across the United States.

Frank Thompson, a lobsterman from Maine, filed a federal lawsuit against the head of the state's marine resources department after he was required to install a GPS tracker on his boat to keep his fishing license. In 2023, Maine — home to a historic and economically vital lobster fishery — began requiring all federally permitted lobstermen to carry the devices to comply with a new U.S. rule aimed at collecting data.

Thompson argued that the monitoring amounted to unreasonable search and seizure. A federal appeals court rejected that claim last year, and he has now asked the Supreme Court to review the matter. The justices are scheduled to consider the petition on Sept. 28.

"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."

Monitoring of commercial fishermen at sea — through human observers and electronic devices — is widespread in the U.S. Regulators say the data collected is essential to keeping the industry and fish populations sustainable and healthy. Fishing groups have repeatedly turned to the courts to try to limit such requirements, with mixed results.

Authorities have described the lobster boat monitoring program as important for improving understanding of the crustacean's population at a time when it appears to be declining in New England. A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Marine Resources declined to comment on Monday. Commissioner Carl Wilson said last year that data from lobster boats is important to "mitigate economic harm to the industry" and to inform regulations.

Conservation groups have opposed efforts to scale back at-sea monitoring, which they view as key to protecting the broader ocean. "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 the Conservation Law Foundation.

The U.S. lobster industry is concentrated in Maine, where fishermen landed more than 78 million pounds (35.4 million kilograms) of lobster last year. That figure is in line with typical annual catches in the 2000s but marks a steep drop from a decade ago, when landings routinely exceeded 120 million pounds (54.4 million kilograms) a year.