GoM charter tracking delayed

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) rule, which would require for-hire Gulf of Mexico charter boat captains to install vessel monitoring systems (VMS), GPS-like devices, on their boats to supply 24/7 location information to the federal government, has been put on hold. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a non-profit civil rights group, had filed a petition with NOAA to amend the effective date of the Final Rule by 90 days - March 14, 2022. However, NOAA only approved a delay until March 1. NCLA represents over 1,300 federally permitted charter boat owners operating off the coasts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, who are seeking relief against the Final Rule in the class-action lawsuit - Mexican Gulf Fishing Company, et al. v. NOAA, et al. NCLA argued that NOAA should let the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana have time to determine the validity of the Rule before requiring GoM captains and companies to purchase, install, and operate costly and "unconstitutionally invasive" tracking devices. On July 21, 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the Final Rule, Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Headboats in Gulf of Mexico Fisheries. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down long-term location tracking as an unconstitutional invasion of privacy months before the issuance of the notice of proposed rulemaking, according to NCLA. NMFS and NOAA went ahead with the process of establishing the rule. (Source: Work Boat 11/04/21) NOAA surveillance of charter boats in Gulf of Mexico delayed until March | WorkBoat