Proclamation 5474

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Throughout our history, the Nation's waters have provided a bounty of fish for recreation and food. Every year more than 60 million Americans participate in sport fishing, one of the most wholesome and healthful of outdoor pursuits.

Recreational fishing provides enjoyment and relaxation for citizens of all ages. It brings them into close touch with the beauty, wonders, and abundance of our inland and coastal waters. Sport fishing promotes respect for nature and encourages sound conservation.

In this great land we are particularly blessed. Not only does sport fishing represent an important commitment to conservation and recreation, it sustains a billion-dollar industry. Through the special taxes, licenses, and fees that sport fishermen pay, tens of millions of dollars are made available each year to fund fishery restoration projects throughout the 50 States and the Territories.

Fishing, of course, is also a major industry that provides employment for more than 300,000 Americans each year and lands some six billion pounds of seafood worth about two and a half billion dollars in direct sales.

In recognition of the valuable financial contributions sport fishing makes to fish conservation programs in every State, and in light of the time-honored recreation it means for so many of our citizens, it is fitting that we observe a National Fishing Week. It is proper that we encourage our Nation's sport fishermen to take pride in their sport and in what it does to preserve and enhance America's fishery resources.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 262, has requested and authorized the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning June 2, 1986, through June 8, 1986, as "National Fishing Week."

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of June 2 through 8, 1986, as National Fishing Week. I urge all Americans to join with anglers in appreciating and working to conserve our priceless freshwater, estuarine, and marine resources.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:44 a.m., May 9, 1986]