National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Establishment of the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

President George W. Bush established the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act, protecting approximately 13,451 square miles of marine and terrestrial area in American Samoa. The proclamation withdraws federal lands from commercial use, assigns joint management to the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce, prohibits commercial fishing while allowing limited noncommercial and traditional indigenous fishing, and initiates incorporation of marine areas into the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.