Commercial Fishermen Fighting Big Brother At Sea

Commercial fishermen have won a round in a legal battle against a 2006 federal requirement to install vessel monitoring systems so authorities can know their location.

By: Jamie Burch | WKRG-TV
Published: June 13, 2008

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ATLANTA (AP) - Commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico have
won a round in a legal battle against a 2006 federal requirement to
install vessel monitoring systems so authorities can know their
location.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a federal
judge's ruling that the Gulf Fishermen's Association had waited too
long to challenge the government regulation. The rule originally
was to take effect Dec. 7, 2006, but the day before, the National
Marine Fisheries Service postponed its implementation for three
months.
In an opinion filed Friday, a three-judge appeals court panel
said that action reopened a 30-day window the fishermen had to
challenge the monitoring regulation. They did so nine days after
the postponement.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)