Massachusetts Lobster Ban Letter

Jon Tolley, a third-generation lobsterman in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, is being forced to shut down his decades-old home-based seafood business due to an alleged zoning violation. In March, town officials issued Jon a notice claiming that selling lobster from his home violated zoning laws, and threatened him with daily fines of up to $300.

For nearly 50 years, Jon has sold fresh lobster and fish from his West Yarmouth home, just as his father did before him. His business has become a community fixture, serving thousands of local customers without issue. Despite this, the town claims that current zoning prohibits retail sales in residential areas, based on a single complaint—the first in over half a century.

Yarmouth’s actions are not only harmful to a local family business but also inconsistent with its own laws. Older versions of the town’s zoning laws explicitly allowed retail seafood sales in residential zones. Jon’s operation predates the newer restrictions, which means his business should be “grandfathered in.”

That’s why the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter urging Yarmouth to rescind the ban. Shutting down a beloved local business like Jon’s over an arbitrary zoning ordinance is immoral, unfair, and likely unconstitutional.