IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 733 
Expressing support for the designation of the week of September 20 through 
September 27, 2025, as ‘‘National Estuaries Week’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 
Mr. MAST (for himself, Mr. HARIDOPOLOS, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. LARSEN of 
Washington, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. LALOTA, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, 
Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. FIGURES, Mr. 
CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. CARBAJAL, 
Mr. HARDER of California, and Ms. RANDALL) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of the week of Sep-
tember 20 through September 27, 2025, as ‘‘National 
Estuaries Week’’. 
Whereas estuary regions cover only 13 percent of the land 
area in the continental United States but contain nearly 
40 percent of the population, 39 percent of the jobs, and 
47 percent of the economic output of the United States; 
Whereas the oceans, estuaries, and Great Lakes of the 
United States continue to fuel economic growth across 
the United States, with employment from the estuarine 
and ocean economy growing at 4.5 percent in 2023, com-
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pared to the national average employment growth of 2 
percent; 
Whereas the estuary, ocean, and Great Lakes economic sec-
tors created 111,000 new jobs between 2022 and 2023, 
employed 
2,600,000 
people, 
and 
contributed 
$511,000,000,000 to the 2023 gross domestic product; 
Whereas the commercial and recreational fishing industries 
support over 2,300,000 jobs in the United States; 
Whereas, in 2022— 
(1) commercial and recreational saltwater fishing in 
the United States generated $321,000,000,000 in sales; 
(2) 
angler 
trip 
expenditures 
totaled 
nearly 
$13,412,000,000; and 
(3) saltwater recreational fishing supported at least 
691,693 jobs, generated $138,000,000,000 in sales im-
pacts across the economy of the United States, and con-
tributed 
$45,100,000,000 
in 
income 
impacts 
and 
$74,900,000,000 in value-added impacts to the United 
States; 
Whereas estuaries provide vital habitats, nurseries, and mi-
gration stopovers for— 
(1) countless species of fish and wildlife, including 
more than 68 percent of the commercial fish catch in the 
United States by value and 80 percent of the recreational 
fish catch in the United States by weight; and 
(2) many species that are listed as threatened or en-
dangered, including birds integral to the health of estu-
aries, such as the Snowy Plover and Saltmarsh Sparrow; 
Whereas estuaries provide critical ecosystem services that 
protect human health and public safety, including water 
filtration, flood control, shoreline stabilization, erosion 
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prevention, and the protection of coastal communities 
during hurricanes, storms, and other extreme weather 
events; 
Whereas, restored wetlands in the United States have been 
shown to remove up to 80 percent of nitrogen and 70 
percent of phosphorus from runoff water; 
Whereas, in 2017, mangrove ecosystems in Florida prevented 
$1,500,000,000 in direct flood damage during Hurricane 
Maria; 
Whereas, coastal wetlands from Maine to North Carolina pre-
vented $625,000,000 in property damage during Hurri-
cane Sandy; 
Whereas, in New Jersey, areas with salt marshes experience 
16 percent lower annual flood losses than areas without 
salt marshes; 
Whereas, by the 1980s, the United States had already lost 
more than 50 percent of the wetlands that existed in the 
Thirteen Original Colonies; 
Whereas the degradation and loss of estuaries has led to the 
collapse of some bays in the United States that were once 
filled with fish and oysters and have now become dead 
zones filled with excess nutrients, chemical waste, and 
marine debris; 
Whereas harmful algal blooms are hurting fish, wildlife, and 
human health and are causing serious ecological and eco-
nomic harm to many estuaries; 
Whereas changes in sea level can affect estuarine water qual-
ity and estuarine habitats; 
Whereas section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) (commonly known as the ‘‘Clean 
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Water Act’’) authorizes the development of comprehen-
sive conservation and management plans to ensure that 
the designated uses of estuaries are protected and to re-
store and maintain— 
(1) chemical, physical, and biological integrity; 
(2) water quality; 
(3) the balanced indigenous population of shellfish, 
fish, and wildlife; and 
(4) recreational activity; 
Whereas the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) provides that the policy of the 
United States is to preserve, protect, develop, and, if pos-
sible, restore or enhance the resources of the coastal 
zones of the United States, including estuaries, for cur-
rent and future generations; 
Whereas 34 coastal and Great Lakes States and territories 
of the United States operate or contain a National Estu-
ary Program or a National Estuarine Research Reserve; 
Whereas scientific study leads to a better understanding of 
the benefits of estuaries to human and ecological commu-
nities; 
Whereas the Federal Government, State, local, and Tribal 
governments, national and community organizations, and 
individuals work together to effectively manage the estu-
aries of the United States; 
Whereas coastal and marine habitat restoration efforts re-
store natural infrastructure in local communities in a 
cost-effective manner, generating an average of 17 jobs 
for every $1,000,000 invested and helping to reestablish 
the natural functions of estuaries that yield countless 
benefits; and 
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Whereas the week of September 20 through September 27, 
2025, is recognized as ‘‘National Estuaries Week’’ to in-
crease awareness among all people of the United States, 
including Federal Government and State, local, and Trib-
al government officials, of the importance of healthy estu-
aries and the need to protect and restore estuaries: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses support for the designation of 
‘‘National Estuaries Week’’; 
(2) supports the goals and ideals of National 
Estuaries Week; 
(3) acknowledges the importance of estuaries to 
sustaining employment in the United States and to 
the economic well-being and prosperity of the United 
States; 
(4) recognizes that persistent threats under-
mine the health of estuaries; 
(5) applauds the work of national and commu-
nity organizations and public partners that promote 
public awareness, understanding, protection, and 
restoration of estuaries; 
(6) supports the scientific study, preservation, 
protection, and restoration of estuaries; and 
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(7) expresses the intent of the House of Rep-
resentatives to continue working to understand, pro-
tect, and restore the estuaries of the United States. 
Æ 
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