WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Florida man’s floating home was a house, not a boat, and not covered under maritime law, in a case that could affect thousands of people around the country who make their home on floating structures in marinas, bays and coves.

The high court ruled 7-2 for Fane Lozman, who argued that the gray, two-story craft approximately 60 feet in length that he towed to the marina in Riviera Beach, Fla., should not have been affected by maritime law.

Justice Stephen Breyer, who included a picture of Lozman’s craft in the opinion, said maritime law affects vessels which are “watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water.” The key words, Breyer said, were “capable of being used” and the court was concerned with practical possibilities, not merely theoretical...

Read the rest at the Washington Post.

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce has officially approved a sixfold increase in the catch limit of a key fish stock.
Gary Locke said Wednesday he was raising the limit on pollock from six to 36 million pounds.
Fishermen had pressed hard for the change. Under a new management system, fishing stops on all species if the limit is reached on one. Fishermen said the pollock limit was so low it would be too quickly reached...
Read the rest in the Boston Herald.