Order Text:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the lawsof the United States of America, to assist in ensuring faithful executionof the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, theAtlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, and the AtlanticStriped Bass Conservation Act (chapters 38, 71, and 71A of title 16, UnitedStates Code), and to conserve striped bass and red drum fish, it is herebyordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the United States toconserve striped bass and red drum for the recreational, economic, andenvironmental benefit of the present and future generations of Americans,based on sound science and in cooperation with State, territorial, local,and tribal governments, the private sector, and others, as appropriate.
Sec. 2. Implementation. (a) To carry out the policy set forth in section1, the Secretary of Commerce shall:
(i) encourage, as appropriate, management under Federal, State,territorial, tribal, and local laws that supports the policy of conservingstriped bass and red drum, including State designation as gamefish wherethe State determines appropriate under applicable law;
(ii) revise current regulations, as appropriate, to include prohibitingthe sale of striped bass and red drum caught within the Exclusive EconomicZone of the United States off the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico;
(iii) periodically review the status of the striped bass and red drumpopulations within waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United Statesand:
(A) take such actions within the authority of the Secretary of Commerce asmay be appropriate to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of thisorder; and
(B) recommend to the President such actions as the Secretary may deemappropriate to advance the policy set forth in section 1 that are notwithin the authority of the Secretary.
(b) Nothing in this order shall preclude or restrict the production,possession, or sale of striped bass or red drum fish that have beenproduced by aquaculture.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce shall implement subsections 2(a)(i) and(iii), insofar as they relate to Atlantic striped bass, jointly with theSecretary of the Interior, as appropriate.
Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) "Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States" means the marine areaof the United States as defined in Presidential Proclamation 5030 of March10, 1983, with, for purposes of this order, the inner boundary of that zonebeing a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastalStates;
(b) "red drum" means the species Sciaenops ocellatus; and
(c) "striped bass" means the species Morone saxatilis.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented in amanner consistent with applicable law (including but not limited tointerstate compacts to which the United States has consented by law,treaties and other international agreements to which the United States is aparty, treaties to which the United States and an Indian tribe are parties,and laws of the United States conferring rights on Indian tribes) andsubject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affectthe functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budgetrelating to budget, administrative, and legislative proposals.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right orbenefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by aparty against the United States, its departments, agencies,instrumentalities, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any otherperson.
GEORGE W. BUSH
