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Supreme Court declines to hear the case of a lobster fisherman who opposes boat tracking

14 October 2026 at 20:42
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of a lobster fisherman who alleged the government requiring commercial fishing boats to use electronic tracking devices amounts to unreasonable search and seizure. Maine lobster fisherman Frank Thompson sued after his state began requiring all federally permitted lobstermen to install GPS trackers on their boats to collect data that will help manage the industry. Thompson appealed to the high court after losing at the appeals court level. The Supreme Court formally denied Thompson’s petition on Oct. 5. The decision allows the state to collect “critically important” data, said Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “It will inform the lobster stock assessment, enhance offshore enforcement, and support better decision-making in a range of federal management contexts,” Wilson said in a statement. Thompson’s lawsuit raised questions about the limits of government surveillance and the ways commercial fisheries are managed. Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented Thompson, said in a Tuesday statement that “the fight over whether the government can use industry regulations to sidestep Fourth Amendment protections is far from over.” The foundation said in a blog post that the court’s decision means some 1,200 Maine lobster fishermen who hold federal permits can be tracked. However, the legal battle over government surveillance isn’t over, the foundation said. Environmental groups that have called for more commercial fishing surveillance cheered the decision. Some have said the industry needs to be monitored more closely to protect rare North Atlantic…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Indonesia returns 20 green sea turtles to the ocean after Bali smuggling raid

13 October 2026 at 18:13
SERANGAN ISLAND, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities on the tourist island of Bali released 20 protected green sea turtles back into the ocean Tuesday after they were found and seized on an empty boat seemingly abandoned by wildlife smugglers fleeing a police raid. Officers conducted final checks on the turtles at a conservation center on Serangan Island, also known as Turtle Island, in southern Bali. They then carefully lifted the turtles using blue cloths and transported them by small truck to the shoreline. Marine police officers in Bali on Saturday foiled an attempt to smuggle 22 green sea turtles, known by the scientific name Chelonia mydas, in the waters off Serangan Island after receiving a report from residents who suspected sea turtle smuggling activity in the area. Two of the 22 turtles are still sick and need to be treated before they can also be released, Gusti Agung Purnama Wirahadi from the Bali Water and Air Police said Tuesday. All of the turtles, which are protected species in Indonesia, were found alive on the boat, but the suspected smugglers had already fled the scene by the time officers arrived. “We hope that no one will dare to capture, keep, or trade these protected species anymore,” Wirahadi said. Turtle species in Indonesia have been legally protected under conservation and fisheries laws since 1990. A 2018 Environment Ministry regulation further clarified protections for the six species of sea turtles found in the country’s waters. Additional government regulations also prohibit their trade. According…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Agents search Rep. Omar's Washington home in criminal probe as she vows she won't 'be silenced'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents on Monday searched the home of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a startling escalation in a criminal investigation that brings renewed focus to the frequent target of Trump administration derision in the final weeks of…

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