Institutional Mechanisms 



Within the United States, research activities 

 directed toward marine resources come within the 

 purview of a number of federal agencies, including the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]), the U.S. Office of 

 Sea Grant (NOAA), USGS, NSF, DOE, and the U.S. Office 

 of Naval Research, as well as the individual state 

 marine fisheries commissions. Since the passage of the 

 U.S. Coastal Management Act in 1972, virtually all 

 coastal states have developed agencies to assess and 

 manage marine resources, coordinated through the Office 

 of Coastal Zone Management of NOAA. 



Examples of mutually beneficial cooperation between 

 U.S. and foreign scientists are already documented. 

 Through IDOE, the National Science Foundation has been 

 involved in cooperative studies with scientists from 

 many nations, and the U.S. Office of Sea Grant recently 

 initiated an international program to communicate 

 results of studies on marine resources through 

 colleagues in other countries having similar problems. 

 Multi-institutional programs such as that of the 

 Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem Analysis project of IDOE 

 have also had a successful record of international 

 cooperation. Furthermore, many scientists from 

 developing countries have received advanced training 

 and education in U.S. academic institutions. Eut these 

 cooperative activities have always been ad hoc in 

 nature, and there has been no systematic program for 

 their development. 



At the international level, the International 

 Council for Exploration of the Seas, the 

 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Committee, the 

 Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, the Committee 

 for Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral 

 Resources in Asian Offshore Areas, and FAO are devoted 

 to a better understanding of marine resources. Still 

 other institutions are encouraging and supporting 

 training and research involving scientists from 

 different countries (e.g., the Division of Marine 

 Sciences, UNESCO) and a number of regional associations 

 are also at work. Thus adequate mechanisms already 

 exist for disseminating information and technology, 

 assuming that the need is recognized and that there is 

 a legitimate desire on the part of all parties to pool 

 information and resources, especially in areas in which 

 resources are shared or, in the case of migratory 

 species, where movement of species among territorial 

 waters is involved. 



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