Maine lobstermen suspected of illegal fishing could be subjected to GPS tracking from devices secretly installed on their vessels by Marine Patrol officers if a proposed bill now being reviewed by lawmakers becomes law.
The Portland Press Herald reported that although the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee received testimony both for and against LD 1379, those who testified “agreed that Maine faces a growing ‘epidemic’ posed by a small number of law-breakers fueling dangerous conflict and threatening the stewardship ethos within the state’s most valuable fishery.”
LD 1379, “An Act Regarding Enforcement of Marine Resources Laws and Suspensions of Marine Resources Licenses,” proposes allowing marine patrol officials “to place covert electronic surveillance equipment on lobster vessels for the purpose of determining if a license holder is violating any laws or rules regarding the hauling of lobster gear.”
The bill would establish “a process under which the covert electronic surveillance equipment may be used, including the requirement for probable cause” and “expands the violations for which a marine resources license may be administratively suspended.”
The Portland Press Herald reported that lobstermen testifying at Monday’s hearing on the bill differed on whether DMR’s commissioner should be allowed to authorize the installation of GPS tracking devices without getting a judge’s approval.
The newspaper reported that Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher told lawmakers the legislation was needed to counteract increasing violations of the state’s lobster conservation laws.
Additional review of the bill by the Marine Resources Committee will follow.
