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Five Maine lobstermen, with the support of the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation, have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maine alleging that recent rules promulgated by the Maine Department of Marine Fisheries (“MDMR”) present an immediate and serious risk to the constitutionally protected privacy interests of Maine lobstermen.

Those rules, which went into effect on December 15, 2023, mandate that all Maine lobstermen with federal lobster fishing permits install and maintain 24-hour electronic tracking devices on their lobster fishing vessels and to keep them operational “when the vessel is in the water regardless of the landing state, trip type, location fished or target species.”

These five are fighting to protect ALL Maine Lobstermen. It has been said that "only a few fishermen" disagree with the Black Box requirement. By donating you will be standing with these men and women - opposing this restriction, and fighting to save this iconic industry.