April 4, 2022 — Maine lobstermen and their counterparts along the East Coast who fish in federal waters will have to install an electronic tracking device on their boats starting next year.
Regulators with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to require all lobstermen and Jonah crab fishermen who fish offshore to have the devices onboard to collect and transmit spatial data. The unprecedented data from the trackers is intended to help regulators with assessing the health of the lobster and crab stocks, ocean planning and interactions with right whales and other protected species.
But lobstermen from Maine have objected to the idea, fearing the data could be used against them, particularly to aid with the siting of offshore wind turbines.