The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Maine lobsterman Frank Thompson’s challenge on Sept. 28 to a rule requiring federally permitted lobster and Jonah crab boats to keep GPS trackers active even outside commercial fishing; lower courts rejected his case in 2023 and 2025.
Maine adopted the license condition after the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission required electronic tracking for federally permitted vessels in the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in a 2023 management change. The state says the data could give officials more detail on fishing effort in federal waters and help monitor fish populations and other ocean issues.
Thompson and other lobstermen say the boats are also used for personal purposes. His lead attorney, Matthew Gilliam, argues that tracking Thompson’s boat when he is not working trespasses on his property and violates Fourth Amendment rights. Gilliam says a compromise could allow tracking during commercial fishing but not recreational use; Maine’s Department of Marine Resources declined to comment on the case.
