provide information needed for fisheries en- 

 forcement. 



Some funding would be necessary to add 

 personnel who would coordinate the transfer 

 of fisheries-related data from the Navy to the 

 Coast Guard district in charge of fisheries en- 

 forcement in that zone. 



On one hand, there may be difficulties in 

 working with and protecting classified infor- 

 mation and there may be a danger that this ex- 

 tra task might not receive adequate attention 

 in a facility oriented to an existing military 

 mission. However, such an information-shar- 

 ing program could ultimately cut costs sub- 

 stantially by reducing duplication of effort 

 and facilities. It could also provide cooperative 

 experience which might lead to sharing of 

 other services and resources needed for en- 

 forcement and the opportunity to evaluate 

 new technology which may be of use in fish- 

 eries enforcement. 



Joint Research (for background discussion, 

 see pages 45 to 46) 



OTA suggests that a pilot project for 

 cooperation and joint research could bring 

 together the Coast Guard, Department of 

 Defense, and the National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration to develop new systems 

 and find efficient ways of using technology in 

 a multimission context. 



Such a pilot project could include joint 

 preparation of long-range plans for determin- 

 ing the most appropriate research and 

 development strategy for new technologies, 

 identifying the needs of all potential users of 

 such technology, and analyzing the costs and 

 benefits of developing and utilizing new tech- 

 nology, especially remote-sensing devices. 



Transponders with Loran-C (for background 

 discussion, see pages 47 to 49) 



OTA suggests early implementation of a 

 pilot program utilizing transponders in two 

 specific regions — the Bering Sea off Alaska 

 and the Georges Bank off New England. Since 

 each of these areas are traditional fishing 

 grounds, but with very different prevailing 

 conditions, the usefulness of transponders 

 could be evaluated for a broad range of ap- 

 plications by this pilot project. 



The pilot programs would require the 

 design and manufacture of Loran-C trans- 

 ponder equipment specifically for this pur- 

 pose. The Loran-C network is already planned 

 or in operation in the regions proposed. A 

 licensing arrangement and installation tech- 

 nique for fitting transponders on each foreign 

 fishing vessel entitled to fish in the region 

 would need to be devised. Control stations 

 and receivers on patrol ships or aircraft would 

 need to be installed. 



It is estimated that the transponder which 

 would go on board each foreign vessel would 

 cost less than $2,500. Once the system were 

 developed and installed, operational costs 

 would be roughly equivalent to the opera- 

 tional cost of the aircraft carrying each control 

 station, $1 million to $1.6 million annually. 

 Funds for evaluating the pilot project would 

 be in addition to these costs. 



The Georges Bank pilot program would re- 

 quire about 150 transponder units and a con- 

 trol station most likely at a Coast Guard shore 

 base in New England. Each vessel entering the 

 200-mile zone at Georges Bank for fishing 

 would be required to activate its transponder 

 which would automatically transmit iden- 

 tification and location to the shore base. The 

 shore base would keep plots of all foreign 

 fishing activity on the banks and give this to 

 patrol craft. Regular patrols of the region 

 would use this information to check on any 



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