US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to Maine lobster Boat Tracking Rule
October 8, 2026 | 1 min to read
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.
At issue is a Maine regulation requiring lobstermen who hold both a state commercial lobster license and a federal lobster permit to install approved electronic tracking devices on their vessels. The devices transmit a vessel’s location while it’s operating on the water. The rule was adopted as part of a broader interstate effort to gather fishing data and improve fisheries management.
Read more about the case at NewsCenter Maine.