128 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



rotting away for lack of proper care and protection from the weather. Per- 

 haps enough of this equipment has been carted away to the dump already, to 

 cover the salary of a competent marine superintendent for a year. 



A closer cooperation between the activities of the two research vessels in 

 this region would result in lower costs of gear and a more integrated work 

 schedule. In a few instances, one research vessel could do the work of two, if 

 care were taken in planning the cruises. One or two competent maintenance 

 men, working in a single gear shed to serve the two vessels would save count- 

 less hours of delay aboard the vessels by mending nets, repairing gear, and 

 making up new equipment. Money is needlessly being spent to purchase com- 

 pleted nets and trawl gear, whereas the required materials could be bought in 

 bulk quantities and made up by our own maintenance men, or equipment 

 specialists. 



This term, "equipment specialists" should be scrutinized. It is the title of 

 numerous classified employees connected with our laboratories. Some of these 

 employees are truly expert gear specialists and many are not. Our real spe- 

 cialists are aboard the vessels, working at their trade 12 hours a day. But 

 these men who have been working at their trade for 40 years or more, are never 

 asked for advice, never consulted about new gear or contemplated fishing activi- 

 ties. They have, in many cases, reached a point where they will not even offer 

 unsolicited suggestions, for experience has taught them that their ideas are not 

 wanted. Many thousands of dollars worth of equipment has gone by the board 

 for lack of proper rigging, or understanding of the ordinary practices of seaman- 

 ship. 



The men on the Service's research vessel are not encouraged to offer their 

 ideas and suggestions. In many instances they have been discouraged from 

 taking any interest in the development of new gear. And this within the branch 

 of Fisheries called Exploration and Gear Research. Even private industry has 

 found it profitable and to its advantage to encourage employee interest in im- 

 proving equipment and operations. 



We have men on our vessels who have spent hours of their own time and 

 many dollars of their own money in pursuing an idea for new equipment, only 

 to find their superiors ashore uninterested and unenthusiastic, probably because 

 of their lack of understanding of the problem. 



Men, and most especially fishermen, with their heritage of independence and 

 self-sufl5ciency, do not like to be supervised by shoreside personnel totally 

 unfamiliar with ship gear and equipment. It is like throwing salt on an open 

 wound when such shoreside personnel are rated as gear and equipment specialists. 



The budget set up for the Alhatross III at the start of the fiscal year 1959 was 

 sufficient to operate the vessel for a year, with a minimum of maintenance work 

 and average repairs. Each month the vessel has received a budget sheet showing 

 expenses to date and balance in the appropriation. The last such sheet received 

 was dated January 31, 19.59. It showed that the vessel was operating well within 

 its budget and had sufficient funds to operate the rest of the year. If the Service 

 is in fact without funds, then where did these budget figures come from? 



Although the welfare of the actual men involved in the deactivation of the 

 Albatross III is of little importance when compared to the .ieopardization of the 

 country's research program, America has had a long background of standing 

 for hiid fighting for the value and dignity of each of its individual citizens. To 

 summarily deactivate the Albatross III without careful examination of all the 

 ramifications of the situation can only be called a blunder. It is imthinkable that 

 this vessel should be deleted from our already insufficient research program, cur- 

 tailing the bilogical research so important to our national welfare at this critical 

 time when maritime nations the world over are exploring the waters washing our 

 very shores in ultramodern research vessels. 



It is the recommendation of the undersigned, that before the U.S. Government's 

 only major research vessel is taken out of service, further study by responsible 

 and impartial authority be undertaken, to determine the truth of the myriad 

 claims and counterclaims, reasons and excuses put forth to justify this action. 



B. H. HlI.LER, 



Master, Albatross III. 

 William J. Bruce, 



Chief Officer. 

 Austin J. Powers, 

 Second Officer, Vice President, Local 1729, American Federation of 

 Government Employees. 



