Maine Fishboat-Tracking Case Should Bother Boaters Who Prize Their Privacy

Lobstermen Lose in Federal Court

Maine lobstermen lost a court battle recently. They were fighting a mandate for 24-hour trackers on their boats. The tracking system in question was not AIS, and the judge’s ruling had no direct impact on recreational boating.

And, yet, the case contains an important clue about how a future government might argue for mandatory, always-on AIS for all vess…