A Maine lobsterman is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his challenge to a government requirement that all Northeast lobster fishermen continuously operate Global Positioning System monitors on their vessels to track movements.

Frank Thompson of Vinalhaven, Maine, argues that tracking required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the State of Maine violates his constitutional rights, and “this warrantless surveillance violates his Fourth Amendment rights,” according to the Pacific Legal Foundation which is bringing the appeal on his behalf.

Thompson originally sued over the state Department of Marine Resources’ enforcement of the monitoring rule in 2023. But his case was dismissed by the federal First District Court of Appeals, which held the GPS tracking requirement is justified in a “closely regulated industry.” 

In making their case for a Supreme Court hearing, Thompson’s attorneys contend the First District court decision is in conflict with other federal court rulings that found broad exceptions to Fourth Amendment rights “apply to criminal cases only, not to commercial cases.”

The questions are whether GPS tracking and “24/7 surveillance constitutes an unreasonable trespassory search in violation of the Fourth Amendment?” Thompson’s appeal states. 

Then, must the court decide if a “warrantless administrative search based on the Fourth Amendment’s protections against government trespass, and not solely on a business owner’s reasonable expectations of privacy?”

“Under this rule, lobstermen like Frank are being subjected to unending, invasive surveillance, and threatened with the loss of their licenses and livelihoods to force compliance,” said Mark Miller, director of Environment and Natural Resources Litigation at the Pacific Legal Foundation, in a prepared statement. “This is an obvious violation of the Fourth Amendment. We urge the Supreme Court to strengthen its digital privacy precedents and prevent government agencies from abusing Americans’ rights through administrative law loopholes.” 

Fishermen and activist legal foundations have mounted other challenges to GPS monitoring rules by the National Marine Fisheries Service. In spring 2023 the agency suspended its electronic monitoring rules for Gulf of Mexico charter fishing operators, after the U.S. Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Fourth Amendment challenge brought by captains and the New Civil Liberties Alliance. 

Thompson is a fifth-generation lobsterman and has lived on the waters around Vinalhaven for over 60 years, and working on lobster boats for 55. Thompson and his wife, Jean, run Fox Island Lobster Company together with their two sons.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources’ adoption of the  tracking rule “demands that the GPS remain active as long as the vessel is in the water—including when it is moored, docked, or being used for personal, recreational, or off-season purposes,” according to the Pacific Legal Foundation.

“This means 24/7 surveillance for lobstermen like Frank, who essentially live on the water, using their boats to fish, see friends, transport family members or community members to the mainland for medical care, and more.”

“Digital surveillance without a warrant is unconstitutional—regardless of industry,” Thompson’s lawyer contend. “The government cannot exclude licensed professions from the Fourth Amendment’s protections and compel lobstermen to submit to government trespass and around-the-clock surveillance.”