Representing Dungeness crab fishers, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has asked the Superior Court of the State of Washington to immediately rule against the state government and shut down its 24/7 electronic monitoring program.
“There is no ‘fishing’ exception to illegal 24-hour surveillance regimes under the state and federal constitutions, and we hope that regime ends soon,” NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione said in a release.
While the Pacific Northwest state used to use paper logbooks to track Dungeness crab vessels’ locations, in 2024, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission launched an electronic monitoring program which required commercial Dungeness crab harvesters to buy state-approved monitoring devices and required them to be powered and transmitting each vessel's location at all times.
Representing three local captains – Sara Franey, Brent Young, and Mark Young – the NCLA sued in 2024, claiming that the program violated crabbers’ rights. The legal group noted that captains often use their vessels for personal reasons, with the devices de facto tracking crabbers without a warrant even when they are not actively crabbing.
In its latest filing, the NCLA asked the Washington Superior Court for declaratory judgement under the state’s Administrative Procedure Act, which authorizes a court to invalidate a rule that violates constitutional provisions, exceeds agency authorities, or “is arbitrary and capricious.” The NCLA claims the electronic monitoring rule fails on all three counts.
“First, the tracking of all regulated vessels when they are traveling and not actually taking crabs by raising or lowering crab pots is arbitrary and capricious for a host of reasons, including that it does not sufficiently support any legitimate purpose revealed in the administrative record. Second, it exceeds the powers granted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife by the legislature, which only allowed that agency to mandate equipment for the taking of wildlife. Finally, it is an unreasonable search of the regulated vessel under both the United States and Washington constitutions,” the NCLA said in its 2 November filing.
This latest filing follows a similar request for summary judgement filed in August, in which the NCLA argued the electronic monitoring rule violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The NCLA has challenged other efforts to implement 24/7 electronic monitoring of commercial fishing vessels. In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of the NCLA – which was representing 1,300 charter boat owners in a class-action lawsuit – and shut down a 24/7 GPS monitoring requirement. The NCLA has also been involved in efforts to block rules on the East Coast requiring commercial fishers to pay out of pocket for at-sea monitors.
In a separate case, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a Maine rule requiring 24/7 GPS monitoring of lobster boats in October.
The Washington Superior Court case is scheduled for a hearing on 15 December.
