ExecutiveOrdersEO
Proc 8335ProclamationG.W. Bush · R Quiet signal

Proclamation 8335

Establishment of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument

President George W. Bush established the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act, protecting approximately 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters in the Mariana Archipelago. The monument consists of three units—Islands, Volcanic, and Trench—with commercial fishing banned in the Islands Unit while allowing sustenance, recreational, and traditional indigenous fishing under sustainable management.

Federal Register Open PDF 74 FR 1557

Impact dates

  1. Prepare management plans and promulgate implementing regulations

  2. Establish Mariana Monument Advisory Council

Key directives

  • Establish Marianas Trench Marine National Monument with three units (Islands, Volcanic, Trench)
  • Secretary of Commerce shall prohibit commercial fishing in Islands Unit
  • Secretary of Interior has overall management responsibility; Secretary of Commerce has primary responsibility for fishery-related activities
  • Secretaries shall prepare management plans and promulgate implementing regulations within 2 years
  • Establish Mariana Monument Advisory Council within 3 months
  • Ensure sustenance, recreational, and traditional indigenous fishing managed as sustainable activity
  • Develop public education programs and scientific research programs
  • Create process for recreational fishing permits in certain Islands Unit areas
  • Implement monitoring and enforcement programs
  • Armed Forces activities exempted from prohibitions

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Monument boundaries established and lands reserved
  • Commercial fishing prohibited in Islands Unit
  • Federal lands withdrawn from entry, location, sale, or leasing

Near term (90d)

  • Advisory Council to be established within 3 months

Long term

  • Management plans and implementing regulations due within 2 years
  • Advisory Council members serve 3-year terms
  • Ongoing management of fisheries, scientific research, and conservation programs

Risks & tensions

  • Tension between conservation goals and traditional indigenous fishing rights requiring 'due consideration' of CNMI government determinations
  • Dual management structure between Interior and Commerce Secretaries may create jurisdictional friction
  • Armed Forces exemption preserves operational flexibility but creates enforcement asymmetry
  • Vague 'as appropriate' language in management plan elements leaves discretion uncertain
  • International law limitation on enforcement against non-U.S. persons may constrain protective effect
Proclamation 8335: Establishment of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument · Executive Orders