Tag Archives: GPS
NCLA Challenges WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife’s Illegal 24-Hour Surveillance of Crabbing Boats
The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed a lawsuit against the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Electronic Monitoring Program using GPS technology to constantly track the location and movements of every state-licensed boat that fishes for Coastal Dungeness Crab, whether they are crabbing or not. The Department sustains the program by forcing fishermen to pay for electronic monitoring systems that they must install on their boats or else face criminal sanctions. Representing local crab fishing boat Captains Sara Franey, Brent Young and Mark Young, NCLA asks the Washington Superior Court to stop this unconstitutional surveillance regime, which does not improve upon cheaper, less intrusive existing methods for monitoring crab stocks. links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:05
California crabbers use GPS to find whale-killing gear
Fisherman Jake Bunch leans over the side of the fishing boat “Sadie K,” spears his catch, and reels it aboard: an abandoned crab pot, dangling one limp lasagna noodle of kelp and dozens of feet of rope, just the kind of fishing gear that has been snaring an increasing number of whales off U.S. coasts. This year, Bunch is one of small number of commercial fishermen out of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, and five other ports up and down California who headed to sea again after the West Coast’s Dungeness crab season ended this summer. The California fishermen are part of a new effort using their cellphones’ GPS and new software pinpointing areas where lost or abandoned crabbing gear has been spotted. They retrieve the gear for a payment — at Half Moon Bay, it’s $65 per pot —before the fishing ropes can snag a whale. click here to read the story 20:44
