The Supreme Court will decide later this month.

It may hear a case from a Maine lobster fisherman.

The case is about a government rule.

The rule says boats must use electronic tracking devices.

This case could affect the whole U.S. fishing industry.

Frank Thompson is a Maine lobsterman.

He filed a lawsuit in federal court.

He is suing the head of his state's marine resources department.

He does not want to put a GPS tracker on his boat.

He needs the tracker to keep his fishing license.

In 2023, the state made all federally permitted lobstermen do this.

It was to follow a new U.S. rule about collecting data.

Thompson said this was an unreasonable search and seizure.

But a federal appeals court said no last year.

Then he appealed to the Supreme Court.

The court will look at the claim on Sept. 28.

Matt Gilliam is Thompson's lead lawyer.

He said the petition asks a question.

Can Maine make lobstermen carry government GPS trackers on their private boats?

This includes when they are not working.

He said he hopes the court will take the case.

He wants the court to address this Fourth Amendment question.

Many U.S. commercial fishermen are watched at sea.

People and electronic devices watch them.

Regulators say the data is very important.

It keeps the industry and fish populations healthy.

Fishing groups have used the courts for many years.

They try to limit monitoring rules.

Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

Authorities have said the lobster boat monitoring program is important.

It helps them understand the lobster population.

The lobster population seems to be going down in New England.

A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Marine Resources did not want to comment on Monday.

Commissioner Carl Wilson said last year that data from lobster boats is important.

It helps reduce economic harm to the industry.

It also helps make rules.

Conservation groups have opposed efforts to reduce monitoring.

Erica Fuller is a senior lawyer with the Conservation Law Foundation.

She said efforts to overturn the appeals court ruling do not change a fact.

The lobster population in New England has gone down.

Fishery managers urgently need reliable data.

The U.S. lobster industry is mostly in Maine.

Fishermen there caught more than 78 million pounds last year.

That was normal for the 2000s.

But it is a big drop from ten years ago.

Back then, catches often topped 120 million pounds a year.