The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Maine lobsterman Frank Thompson’s challenge to a rule requiring GPS trackers on federally licensed lobster boats, leaving in place a First Circuit decision that upheld the requirement. Thompson says he plans to keep fighting it.
Maine’s Department of Marine Resources introduced the tracking rule in 2023 at the direction of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The department says devices record a vessel’s location once a minute while it is moving and every six hours when docked. State officials and conservation advocates have cited the measure’s role in managing the fishery and protecting North Atlantic right whales.
Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman from Vinalhaven, argued that tracking can capture information about personal trips as well as fishing activity. He and four other lobstermen sued, claiming the devices amounted to warrantless surveillance. A federal judge dismissed the case, and the First Circuit upheld that outcome, concluding the requirement did not violate the Fourth Amendment because lobstering is a closely regulated industry.
Thompson’s attorney, Matthew Gilliam of Pacific Legal Foundation, argued that the mandate conditions the ability to earn a living and maintain a lobster license on accepting tracking. The American Farm Bureau Federation supported Thompson’s Supreme Court appeal, contending in a court filing that the lower court’s reasoning could have implications for other regulated occupations.
The Conservation Law Foundation, which had supported the tracking rule in the appeals court, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. Maine DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson also reaffirmed the department’s support, saying the data requirement is important to the fishery’s long-term sustainability.
Thompson told Fox News Digital that he views the dispute as extending beyond lobster fishing and intends to work with his lawyers to challenge the rule further. The Supreme Court’s refusal to take the case does not itself resolve the broader debate over tracking requirements in other industries.
