Constitution boat captains enchantment to reverse state GPS monitoring rule

Charter boat captains want the Fifth Circuit to overturn a judge’s decision in favor of the government mandate that their ships carry GPS tracking systems, according to a filing in a Louisiana federal court.

Captains Billy Wells, Allen Walburn, Kraig Dafcik and others argue that the GPS tracking rule violates their constitutional rights. The rule is intended to protect fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. But the government has no advantage in monitoring fish stocks compared to other, cheaper alternatives, she told the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The court ruled that the mandate did not violate the…