Arrr! Lobster lads be furious 'bout the blasted boat tracking rule, callin' it a scurvy 'unconstitutional' shackle!
2024-01-08
Arrr, a scurvy group o' five lobstermen be suin' them fishin' regulators o'er a blasted law that be demandin' these fancy electronic monitors on them federally-licensed fishin' boats! 'Tis all 'bout savin' them endangered whales, they say! Avast, what be next? A parrot spyin' on me plunderin' ways?
A group of lobster fishermen has filed a lawsuit against fishing regulators in federal court, arguing that the new electronic monitoring requirements to protect rare whales are unconstitutional. The rules, which came into effect on December 15, mandate that fishermen with federal lobster fishing permits must install 24-hour electronic tracking devices on their boats. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has promoted this rule as a means to gather better data for the fishery and safeguard the vulnerable North Atlantic right whale, which can be endangered by entanglement in fishing gear.Five lobstermen from a fishing union filed the lawsuit, expressing their opposition to the requirement that the tracking devices must be operational at all times. They believe that continuous surveillance of Maine's lobster fleet infringes upon their constitutional rights and unfairly treats the lobstermen who have demonstrated their responsibility as custodians of the ocean.
Fishing monitoring has been a contentious issue among commercial fishermen, whether through human workers or electronic surveillance. While regulators defend the rules as crucial for managing fisheries, many fishing groups view them as excessive. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which announced the monitoring rules, stated that it is essential to gather up-to-date data to aid the conservation of right whales, which have a population of less than 360.
The Atlantic States commission has yet to fully review the fishermen's complaint, and the commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources believes that the data collected by the trackers will ultimately benefit lobster fishermen. The tracking devices were provided to Maine lobstermen using congressional funding, but not all fishermen have installed them. The court case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, does not have a hearing date scheduled yet.