[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 5 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Pages 150-151]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7065--Year of the Ocean, 1998

January 28, 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

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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.
      
    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.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., January 29, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on January 
30.