Protection of 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.

[[Page 60532]]

                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.
                
                
                    President, George Bush

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    October 20, 2007.