The goal of the exploration and experimentation carried on by the sea grant colleges would eventually be the construction of a completely self-sufficient submarine city, able to supply its own food, shelter, power, and transportation. At this time, when overpopulation is a worldwide concern, the benefits of such a situation would be countless. However, it must be understood that to achieve these aims requires a well-based knowledge of the mechanics of submarine soil, the calculated extent to which underwater pressures must be accounted for, means of soil fertilization and upkeep, the possibility of wave movement as a source of power and many other important factors. It is my belief that the institution of sea grant colleges and programs would create an adequate and successful system for the start of submarine exploration. Mr. Speaker, I cannot urge this committee too much to look favorably upon this legislation. Experts in oceanography and hydrospace have ascertained that the time is now for the U.S. Government to begin educating our young engineers in this field. The years ahead are important, and our country may find that in the near future complete knowledge of the ocean floor will be a requirement, not a mere curiosity. Senator PELL. Thank you for your fine testimony. Our next witness is Congressmen Reinecke, of California. You may proceed, Congressman. STATEMENT OF HON. ED REINECKE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Mr. REINECKE. Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to express my support for the sea grant college bill, S. 2439, now under consideration by this special subcommittee. As a member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and to its Subcommittee on Oceanography, I am very much aware of the importance of the sea around us, and of the need for creative thinking about ways to more fully use this great natural resource for the benefit of this Nation, and of all mankind. As an engineer myself, I am always most concerned with the problems of practical applications of new knowledge and new discoveries. The land-grant college concept was a creative way to bring to a growing nation the facilities for practical education. It was a means of bringing knowledge to the men who were building our country. And this concept placed the power of the people through their National Government squarely behind the idea of promoting practical education, as well as productive research, at the local and community level. The U.S. Government operates oceanographic programs from 18 or 20 Federal agencies. And many universities, laboratories, and industries supplement these with research efforts of their own. But, it seems to me, that there is still a need for the application of our new knowledge of the sea. There still is a need for exploring the commercial, engineering, medical, legal, mineral, biological, and foodproducing aspects of the ocean. There is a need for further study in the matters of harbor engineering and construction. There is a need for us to realize that the sea around us, which constitutes almost 71 percent of our world's surface, may hold as much potential, and as many rich surprises, as does outer space. I heartily endorse the idea of the sea grant college. The emphasis of this bill and of this idea is to work with existing educational institutions to make full use of the research facilities already involved in the exploration of the sea. This also brings to bear on ocean problems the combined talents and experience of the scholars from many disciplines within a university. It also uses existing organizations of proven capability. In my own southern California great steps have been taken to integrate the efforts of local government, industry, and the colleges and universities into a common thrust into the mysteries of the ocean depths. The port of Long Beach, the University of Southern California, the California State College System, the famed Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission, and my own alma mater, the California Institute of Technology are all involved in various efforts to further our understanding of the ocean and to exploit its riches for the welfare of all human beings. I am glad to see that the intent of this bill is to solve a real problem without building a large Federal bureaucracy. This bill will put ocean development in the States, where the work is actually going on, and where it belongs. This sea grant concept will involve the American people directly instead of leaving ocean development to a group of Federal researchers removed from the laboratories of practical application. The urgency of this matter is best illustrated when we compare our progress in ocean development with that of the Soviet Union in recent years. Yhile the United States has maintained a lead in basic scientific research, it has been generally realized that the Soviets have emphasized the applications of research, rather than basic investigations. In certain phases of applied research the United States maintains a lead. The field of oceanographic instruments is one in which this Nation is ahead. Also, the use of computers applied in the assemblage of marine scientific data is an American achievement, though now under study in the Soviet Union today. Russia claims some 1,500 oceanographers backed up by 7,500 men and women working full time in the field. The status of sea scientists is being upgraded, and the field is being made more appealing to young people. It should be mentioned that the Soviet Institute of Oceanography has been expanded five times from its original size in the past 15 years. By contrast, it has been estimated that the United States has approximately 700 oceanographers with some 2,000 to 2,500 full-time technicians supporting them. We are increasing our ranks by approximately 10 percent a year. The Soviets may actually be increasing by 15 percent per year. The United States can also claim a lead in deep sea mining, drilling, and deep sea research vehicles. However, the Soviets are moving up fast in developing vehicles of their own. The Russians have declared a technological and commercial war on us-on and under the high seas. In shipping, and in fishing, their intent is quite clear. They wish to become masters of the ocean. They have been successful in fisheries because they have applied to the fishing operations the tools learned in marine research. With this success, they are encouraging more oceanographic efforts. In the United States today there is an emerging awareness on the part of the public, the academic world, the Congress, and the industrial community that the oceans represent a vast untapped resource. This emerging awareness is greeted by an enthusiastic community of scientists and ocean technologists eager to move into a concentrated campaign to promote full utilization of the sea around us. This Nation stands at the threshold of man's final conquest of his environment. Man in the ocean, or man on the high seas, is as important to our Nation's future as man in space, or man on the moon. The sea grant college is a giant step toward seeing that the first place in ocean technology stays in American hands. Senator PELL. Thank you, Congressman. At this point, since we are through listening to the witnesses we have invited, I would like to make the announcement that the record will stay open until May 12 for any further testimony or changes that are offered, and after that time it is the intention of the subcommittee to meet in executive session to go over the various amendments that are being offered and see what our combined thinking is in this regard. I thank the witnesses who have come from long distances, and if there is anybody else in the audience here with a supplemental review to offer, I will be glad to hear it. Otherwise, the meeetings of this subcommittee are herewith recessed. (The following material was subsequently supplied for the record.) Hon. CLAIBORNE PELL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, Chairman, Special Subcommittee on Sea Grant Colleges, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR PELL: At the hearing on S. 2439, held May 3, 1966, there was some mention of the origin of the present Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. I have had prepared an organizational chronology which traces the Bureau back to the original act of February 9, 1871, and am enclosing it for the record. Sincerely yours, DONALD L. MCKERNAN, Director. ORGANIZATIONAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES Fish were an extremely important source of food in the early days of the Repub. lic and for that reason the fisheries received early attention from the Congress as a renewable resource. By the act of February 9, 1871, the Congress recognized the national aspect in the conservation of fisheries by authorizing appointment of a Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries to study the decrease of the food fishes of the seacoasts and lakes of the United States, and to suggest remedial measures. The Commissioner was to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the civil officers or employees of the Government and was to serve without additional salary (16 Stat. 594). The sum of $5,000 was appropriated to carry out the required study (16 Stat. 503). The probem of depletion of the fisheries had been called to the attention of the Congress in January 1871 by Mr. Spencer F. Baird, who was then Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The work authorized under the original act was done by personnel of the Smithsonian Institution who served without additional compensation. Thereafter, on January 20, 1888, the original act was amended to authorize a salary of $5,000 per year for the Commissioner and to require that he not hold any other office or employment (25 Stat. 1). The Fish Commission and the Office of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries functioned as an independent establishment of the Government from February 9, 1871, to July 1, 1903, when, by the act of February 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 827), the Fish Commission and the Office of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries were placed in the Department of Commerce and Labor which was created by the latter act. That same act transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Commerce and Labor jurisdiction, supervision, and control over the fur seal, salmon, and other fisheries of Alaska (32 Stat. 828). Thereafter, this entity was called the Bureau of Fisheries. By the act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736), the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into two separate departments and the Bureau of Fisheries remained with the Department of Commerce until July 1, 1939, when the 1939 Reorganization Plan No. II (53 Stat. 1433) transferred the Bureau of Fisheries to the Department of the Interior. The Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey, both in the Department of the Interior, were consolidated into one agency to be known as the Fish and Wildlife Service by the 1940 Reorganization Plan No. III (54 Stat. 1232), which became effective June 30, 1940. By the terms of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, approved August 8, 1956 (70 Stat. 1119), there was established within the Department of the Interior to succeed the then existing Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consisting of two separate agencies, each with the status of a Federal bureau, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, Hon. CLAIBORNE PELL, DEAR SIR: Our knowledge and understanding of the oceans and its contents are growing rapidly. With this increasing knowledge, comes the possibility of making fuller use of the ocean's resources. These resources range from oil, minerals, new sources of animal protein, and pharmaceuticals to the uses of the oceans for recreational purposes and the development of cheaper and safer waste disposal systems. New technology has made possible the development of better vehicles for moving through the oceans at all depths; and deep ocean anchored buoys hold promise of better monitoring of the ocean-atmosphere system and of markedly improving our 3-10-day weather forecasts. We believe the United States should continue to play a leading role in these developments. The analogy of the land-grant concept to the development of our ocean resources as incorporated in S. 2439 is attractive. The agricultural productivity of this Nation is unsurpassed and much of the credit for this fact must go to the development of the land-grant college movement. Land-grant colleges, with their wide range of activities including agricultural experiment stations and extension services, have been singularly successful in bringing the findings of science out of the laboratory and classroom and transferring these ideas into practical application. Land-grant colleges also have provided the services of the laboratory to solve some of the day-to-day problems of the farmer. Most importantly, the land-grant college movement provided the agricultural industry with welltrained men and women capable of utilizing the new ideas of the laboratory and experiment station and of further developing our agricultural resources. We believe a similarly conceived program for developing our ocean resources could do much to insure the continuing leadership of the United States in this area. We believe such a program could provide the necessary impetus to bring about an expanded effort in the development and exploitation of the oceans' resources. Thus, we endorse the principle of S. 2439, the National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1965. Sincerely yours, MILNER B. SCHAEFER, Chairman. BOSTON UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, Boston, Mass., May 10, 1966. Hon. CLAIBORNE PELL, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR PELL: It is a pleasure to endorse S. 2439, which will be subjected to the Special Subcommittee on the Sea Grant College of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The purposes of this bill are vital to the success of oceanology in this country. Certainly, the land-grant concept has proved to be an extremely important factor in the outstanding performance and knowledge of American agriculture. sea. We, in the study of the sea, feel that this vast, largely unexplored frontier is open. Other countries such as Russia and Japan are actively engaged in scientific and practical pursuits to obtain knowledge and economic gain from the The United States has devoted relatively little effort toward the development of our knowledge or utilization of the oceans. It seems axiomatic that the self-interest of this country can best be served by occupying and understanding the sea. Our fisheries need modernization and information. Our utilization and understanding of the food chain in the sea needs more detailed investigations. The mineral wealth of the oceans remains largely untapped and unknown. The sea as a source of fresh water needs further investigation. These are areas to which science and technology can contribute greatly if given the proper tools and personnel. S. 2439 is an important step in returning the seas to American ingenuity. The basic caliber of marine scientists in this country is excellent, but we need to train more of them and devote more attention to practical problem solving without forgetting that basic research is the foundation of science. Let this country turn to the sea in this century as it turned to the land in the last century and the bounty of the sea will be ours as the bounty of the land is now. Again, good luck and best wishes on this important legislation. Sincerely yours, GALEN E. JONES, Director-elect, New Hampshire Marine Laboratory. SCOTTISH MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Marine Station, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland, May 3, 1966. Mr. ARTHUR LARSON, Office of Senator Gaylord Nelson, Old Senate Building, Washington, D.C. NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE AND PROGRAM ACT OF 1965 STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR INCLUSION IN THE RECORD OF THE HEARING ON THE ABOVE SENATE BILL S. 2439 This statement is submitted by the undersigned, Dr. Clifford H. Mortimer, fellow of the Royal Society, director and secretary of the Scottish Marine Biological Association, and director-designate of the recently constituted Center for Great Lakes Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where he will shortly take up appointment with rank of distinguished professor. Having, in the preceding paragraph, declared his personal interest, the writer seeks to add his support to the scientific case for this bill and for the inclusion of investigations on the Great Lakes under the definition of “marine studies." It is proper that the Great Lakes should be so included, because the techniques and seamanship needed to solve outstanding problems in lake hydrography and biology are oceanographic in nature and scale, and because there is growing evidence that certain basic and universal processes--for instance, air/water interactions, some effect of the earth's rotation on water movements, pollution-induced biological changes in large bodies of water-can often be more conveniently studied in the lakes than elsewhere. |