Saving Seafood

Maine lobsterman takes GPS tracker fight to Supreme Court, calls it ‘government surveillance’

September 28, 2026 — A Supreme Court case over lobster boats in Maine could affect far more than one fisherman’s daily routine.

The dispute asks whether Maine can require federally permitted lobster and Jonah crab boats to keep GPS trackers running at all times, including when they are not being used for commercial fishing.

For working waterfront families, the case has become a clash between privacy and property rights on one side and fishery oversight on the other in an industry that helps sustain communities across coastal Maine.

Read the full article at The Cool Down

Maine lobsterman takes fight against boat trackers to Supreme Court

September 21, 2026 — A Maine lobsterman is taking his fight against lobster and crab fishing boat trackers to the Supreme Court in a case that could have implications for the state’s fishing industry.

Frank Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman from near Vinalhaven, Maine, filed a federal lawsuit Carl Wilson, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, in 2023 over a Maine law complying with a federal mandate that requires lobstermen to install and continuously operate GPS trackers on their ships to keep their license.

A district court dismissed his case in 2023, as did an appeals court in 2025. He has now appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which is set to take it up on Sept. 28.

Supreme Court to consider Maine lobsterman’s GPS tracking challenge later this month

September 16, 2026 — A longtime Maine lobsterman is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his challenge to a requirement that federally permitted lobster boats carry electronic tracking devices.

Frank Thompson argues that the tracking requirement violates the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches.

The Supreme Court has distributed the petition for its Sept. 28 conference, where the justices are expected to consider whether to take up the case. The conference is not an oral argument, and the court has not agreed to hear the case.

Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman from Vinalhaven, argues that the tracking requirement goes too far because the device remains on his private boat even when he’s not lobstering.

Maine requires state license holders who also hold certain federal lobster permits to have an electronic tracker on their boats while operating. The device records the time and location of the vessel once per minute while its moving and every six hours while it is tied up, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Maine DMR says that the data are intended to provide more detailed information about fishing activity and stock assessments that can help with fisheries management and protected species issues.

Read the full article at WMTW

Supreme Court to decide whether to hear Maine lobsterman’s challenge to GPS boat tracker requirement

September 14, 2026 — The Supreme Court will decide later this month whether to hear a lobster fisherman’s challenge to a government requirement that boats use electronic tracking devices. That case could have broad consequences for the American commercial fishing industry.

Maine lobsterman Frank Thompson filed a federal lawsuit against the head of his state’s marine resources department over a requirement that he install a GPS tracker on his boat to keep his fishing license.

In 2023, the state, where lobster fishing is a critical and historic industry, required all federally permitted lobstermen to do so to comply with a new U.S. rule aimed at data collection.

Thompson asserted that the monitoring constituted unreasonable search and seizure, but a federal appeals court denied his claim last year. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which is set to review the claim on Sept. 28.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

MAINE: Maine officials monitoring Casco Bay algae bloom

September 10, 2026 — An algae bloom in Casco Bay could be harming fish and shellfish.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring the bloom of a common phytoplankton called Karenia mikimotoi. The phytoplankton are not harmful to humans, but they can produce compounds that can harm fish and shellfish.

The department was alerted to the bloom when the Portland Harbor Master and wharf owners in Portland Harbor noticed a dark brown tint to the water, according to a social media post by the Maine DMR .

Read the full article at Spectrum News

MAINE: Toxic phytoplankton blooms believed to be killing shellfish off Maine coast

September 10, 2026 — Right now, the Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring a threat to fish and shellfish from Casco Bay to Middle Bay in Harpswell.

Testing shows counts of toxic phytoplankton blooms are relatively low.

Yet they’re still believed to be what’s killing lobsters and littleneck clams off Harpswell and in Portland Harbor.

While the phytoplankton blooms, like the one causing brownish water off Widgery Wharf, can be deadly to fish and shellfish, it is not harmful to humans.

Read the full article at WGME

MAINE: Maine’s Department of Marine Resources reopens menhaden harvest on August 31

August 28, 2026 — Maine’s Department of Marine Resources announced that commercial menhaden (pogy) harvesting will reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 31, using quota transfers from other Atlantic states.

On August 20, the DMR had announced that it was discontinuing commercial pogy harvesting under the Episodic Event Set Aside effective at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 21.

Working through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission with other Atlantic states, the DMR is arranging quota transfers, which will allow the fishery to reopen on August 31.

Read the full article at The Weekly Packet

New regulations to protect right whales may be paused until 2035

July 20, 2026 — A bill cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District that would further delay new protections for North American right whales has advanced out of Committee.

Golden has cited government layoffs and other slowdowns as reasons for extending a moratorium on new regulations from 2028 to 2035.

Golden said in remarks to the House Natural Resources Committee that the extended moratorium would provide time to collect more data, ensuring that Maine fisheries aren’t unfairly burdened. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association wrote letters of support for the legislation.

“We need more time to make sure that any new measures we ask lobstermen to take will strike a very careful balance between protecting marine life and protecting the livelihoods of fishermen themselves,” Golden said at the committee hearing.

But Gib Brogan of ocean protection nonprofit Oceana said the science is clear.

“All of the available evidence shows that the protections that are in place right now are not enough to support the recovery of North Atlantic right whales.”

Read the full article at Maine Public

MAINE: Maine seeks new ESA tools to speed Atlantic salmon recovery

July 16, 2026 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is asking federal fisheries officials to evaluate whether existing authorities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could help accelerate Atlantic salmon recovery while maintaining current protections.

In a June 4 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson requested that NOAA review whether the ESA could provide additional flexibility to expand Atlantic salmon recovery efforts. The Bangor Daily News reported that the request could eventually create opportunities for tightly controlled, conservation-oriented catch-and-release fishing if the species recovers.

The request follows decades of habitat restoration, fish passage improvements and river connectivity projects that have benefited Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish. However, Sean Ledwin, director of the DMR Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, said adult Atlantic salmon returns remain very low despite those investments.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine is exploring a path that could bring back Atlantic salmon fishing

July 13, 2026 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources is asking a federal agency to review whether existing endangered species laws could provide new tools to accelerate Atlantic salmon recovery, an effort the state says could eventually create opportunities for tightly controlled catch-and-release fishing if the species recovers.

In a June 4 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to evaluate whether authorities under the Endangered Species Act could provide additional flexibility to expand Atlantic salmon recovery efforts while maintaining existing federal protections.

The request comes after decades of habitat restoration, improved fish passage and river connectivity projects that have benefited Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish, but adult Atlantic salmon returns remain very low despite those investments, according to Sean Ledwin, director of DMR’s Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat.

Read the full article at the Piscataquis Observer