Saving Seafood

Supreme Court declines to hear case of a lobster fisherman who opposes boat tracking

October 15, 2026 — The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of a lobster fisherman who alleged the government requiring commercial fishing boats to use electronic tracking devices amounts to unreasonable search and seizure.

Maine lobster fisherman Frank Thompson sued after his state began requiring all federally permitted lobstermen to install GPS trackers on their boats to collect data that will help manage the industry. Thompson appealed to the high court after losing at the appeals court level.

The Supreme Court formally denied Thompson’s petition on Oct. 5. The decision allows the state to collect “critically important” data, said Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Read the full article at ABC News

MAINE: Algal bloom is intensifying offshore in Maine waters

October 7, 2026 — The algal bloom that has been spreading off the Maine coast for weeks is shifting, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

While the bloom is continuing to dissipate in inner Casco Bay, activity is increasing along the Midcoast, and patches have been found in Penobscot Bay. Offshore, the recent rain has caused the bloom to intensify. Satellite footage has mapped large areas one half mile to five miles out to sea.

Read the full article at Maine Public

Justices decline to take up Maine boat monitor case

October 7, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a lawsuit challenging a Maine rule requiring commercial lobstermen to use electronic vessel tracking systems.

In an unwritten decision, the high court denied lobsterman Frank Thompson’s petition for a writ of certiorari to consider a case against the Maine Department of Marine Resources, claiming that GPS monitoring of private boats violates Fourth Amendment protections. The decision effectively ends the long-running legal fight, upholding a previous federal appeals court ruling rejecting the lawsuit.

Thompson, who was represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, had claimed the 24/7 surveillance unfairly targets Maine’s federally licensed lobster fleet.

Read the full article at The Center Square

US Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maine lobster boat tracking rule

October 6, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging Maine’s requirement that certain commercial lobstermen use electronic vessel tracking devices, leaving in place a lower court ruling that upheld the program.

The case was brought by Frank Thompson, a Maine lobsterman who argued the state’s tracking requirement violates the Fourth Amendment by forcing fishermen to submit to continuous GPS monitoring as a condition of keeping their fishing licenses.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

New apprenticeship changes path into Maine scallop fishery

October 5, 2026 — Maine is changing the way new fishermen enter its state scallop drag fishery, pairing its longtime license lottery with an apprenticeship program designed to put experience, safety, and mentorship ahead of a simple random draw.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) adopted the new requirements this year after years of discussion with the Scallop Advisory Council, making the 2026 lottery the first to include an apprenticeship requirement.

Under the new system, prospective scallop drag license holders must identify a sponsoring captain when entering the lottery. If selected, an applicant receives an apprentice license and has two scallop seasons to complete required training before becoming eligible to purchase a commercial drag license.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

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