Executive Order 13547: Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes
President: Barack Obama
Adopted a national ocean policy and created a National Ocean Council to coordinate science-based coastal and marine planning.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13547 still in effect? No. Revoked and replaced by EO 13840 in 2018.
What does Executive Order 13547 do?
EO 13547 adopted the Ocean Policy Task Force recommendations, established ecosystem-based stewardship principles and a National Ocean Council, and supported regional marine planning. Agencies implemented it only through existing legal authorities. EO 13840 revoked the order and replaced its planning structure in 2018.
Before and after
Before the order
Ocean and Great Lakes responsibilities were fragmented among many federal agencies.
After the order
Agencies used shared priorities, data portals and regional planning bodies to coordinate decisions.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| National Ocean Council | Coordinate policy and implementation | Ended |
| Agencies | Use existing authority consistently with the policy | Superseded |
| Regional planning bodies | Develop nonbinding plans and data products | Superseded |
What happened next
EO 13547 adopted the policy.
EO 13840 revoked EO 13547.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Marine statutes, not the order, governed leasing, fishing, navigation and environmental review. EO 13840 preserved agency authority under those laws.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- NOAA — ocean policy (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →