| President Bush signs Executive Order for Striped Bass and Red Drum Game Fish Status |
| Written by John Redmond |
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President Bush signs Executive Order for Striped Bass and Red Drum Game Fish Status - but not so fast... Executive Order: Protection of Striped Bass and Red Drum Fish Populations RSS Feed White House News Fact sheet President Bush Signs Executive Order to Protect Striped Bass and Red Drum Fish Populations By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, to assist in ensuring faithful execution of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, and the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (chapters 38, 71, and 71A of title 16, United States Code), and to conserve striped bass and red drum fish, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the United States to conserve striped bass and red drum for the recreational, economic, and environmental 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 section 1, the Secretary of Commerce shall: (i) encourage, as appropriate, management under Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local laws that supports the policy of conserving striped bass and red drum, including State designation as gamefish where the State determines appropriate under applicable law; (ii) revise current regulations, as appropriate, to include prohibiting the sale of striped bass and red drum caught within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States off the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico; (iii) periodically review the status of the striped bass and red drum populations within waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and: (A) take such actions within the authority of the Secretary of Commerce as may be appropriate to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and (B) recommend to the President such actions as the Secretary may deem appropriate to advance the policy set forth in section 1 that are not within 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 been produced 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 the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate. Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this order: (a) "Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States" means the marine area of the United States as defined in Presidential Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 1983, with, for purposes of this order, the inner boundary of that zone being a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastal States; (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 a manner consistent with applicable law (including but not limited to interstate compacts to which the United States has consented by law, treaties and other international agreements to which the United States is a party, treaties to which the United States and an Indian tribe are parties, and laws of the United States conferring rights on Indian tribes) and subject to the availability of appropriations. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, and legislative proposals. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. GEORGE W. BUSH THE WHITE HOUSE, October 20, 2007. So what does this mean for Striped Bass? Initial interpretation is not much. The fact is that there is currently no LEGAL* catch of Striped Bass in EEZ (Economic Exclusion Zone) waters. The EEZ is the area out to 200 miles BEYOND the States' controlled 3 Mile Limit, basically from mile 3.1 to 200 miles from shore. So the local states control the economic status of striped bass (and Red Drum for that matter) from the edge of that state's coastline and out to 3 miles. Where commercial fishing has been permitted in those waters before this Executive Order, commercial fishing of striped bass is STILL legal as the only areas LEGALLY* fished for striped bass are state and not federal waters. So while the wording of the E.O. encourages the states to examine Game Fish Status at the STATE LEVEL, it does nothing to require Game Fish Status by the states. * Yes, I put a red asterisk on legal and legally as I have personally witnessed commercial striped bass fishermen in Massachusetts publicly state to Massachusetts and Federal Fisheries Management folks during Amendment VI public hearing that they routinely fish well beyond the 3 mile limit into EEZ waters... Lots of discussion HERE on the Striped-Bass.com StriperTalk forums . |
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