[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 4553-4554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2532]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 20 / Friday, January 30, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 4553]]

                Proclamation 7065 of January 28, 1998

                
Year of the Ocean, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered 
                by water, and more than half the world's population 
                lives within 50 miles of a coastline. We rely on the 
                ocean as both a source and sustenance of life on our 
                planet. It contains a wondrous abundance and diversity 
                of life, from the smallest microorganism to the mammoth 
                blue whale. It is a key source of food, medicine, 
                energy, commerce, and recreation for the peoples of the 
                world, and the more we learn about its influence on 
                climate and weather, the more we realize its impact on 
                our safety and quality of life.

                We are only beginning to understand the depths of the 
                ocean's mysteries, but we are quickly learning one 
                crucial lesson: the ocean's resources are limited, and 
                we must work together to preserve them. Many areas are 
                already overfished; decades of pollution, including 
                industrial waste, sewage, and toxic runoff, has taken 
                its toll on the health of the ocean and its living 
                creatures. Many species of fish are threatened with 
                extinction, and even our precious coral reefs, once a 
                safe haven for an amazing variety of animal and plant 
                life, have suffered greatly.

                Because the ocean is a treasure that all nations of the 
                world share in common, we must work in partnership to 
                become wise stewards of its many riches. We must strive 
                together--at local, national, and international 
                levels--to preserve the ocean's health, to protect the 
                marine environment, and to ensure the sustainable 
                management of the myriad resources the ocean contains.

                Dedicating 1998 as the Year of the Ocean is an 
                important first step in this worldwide endeavor. 
                Throughout the year, individuals, organizations, and 
                governments will participate in activities designed to 
                raise public awareness of the vital role the ocean 
                plays in human life and of the equally vital role that 
                human beings must play in the life of the ocean. The 
                Year of the Ocean provides us with an extraordinary 
                opportunity to learn more about the ocean's unique 
                environment and to collaborate on protecting and 
                preserving its invaluable resources.

[[Page 4554]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim 1998 as 
                the Year of the Ocean. I encourage the Governors of the 
                States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 
                officials of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of 
                the United States to participate in the observance of 
                this year. I invite all Americans to take this 
                opportunity to learn more about the ocean and its vast 
                biodiversity and to become involved in keeping our 
                coastal waters safe and clean.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-2532
Filed 1-29-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P