Court to decide whether to hear lobsterman's challenge to boat tracker requirement

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide later this month whether to hear a challenge by Maine lobster fisherman Frank Thompson to a requirement that boats carry electronic tracking devices. Thompson filed a federal lawsuit after Maine required federally permitted lobstermen in 2023 to install GPS trackers on their boats to maintain compliance with a new U.S. rule aimed at data collection. Thompson argued the monitoring amounted to an unreasonable search and seizure. A federal appeals court rejected his claim last year, and he appealed to the Supreme Court, set to review the case on Sept. 28. His attorney, Matt Gilliam, said the petition asks whether Maine can require trackers on private boats even when fishermen are off the job.