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sea time for assessments. Combined with some serious maintenance problems — 

 for instance, recently the Delaware II fell off the ways when being 

 repaired--has been tendency for senior scientists to remain on land 

 (often travelling abroad to provide advice for ICNAF proceedings) while 

 new personnel are called upon to make cruises, take samples, and provide 

 results for laboratory analysis. Often these new personnel are young 

 fishery students who make one or two trips before moving to other positions. 

 Needless to say, the quality of the data they develop may be open to 

 question if they bave been seasick during the cruise. In any case, the 

 data provided must then be analyzed in the lab by senior personnel, 

 requiring time and adjustment. There currently appears to be a dispute 

 at NMFS concerning the suitability of the research vessels for their 

 task. Personnel who do not make cruises very often tend to be satisfied 

 with the existing vessels; those who do^ make cruises shake their heads. 



Recent reorganization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (parent agency of NMFS in the Commerce Department) placed 

 the existing vessels under the authority of the National Ocean Survey. 

 Formerly, they had been operated and controlled by NMFS, and during this 

 period spent a great deal of time at sea, averaging well over two 

 hundred days a year. The present situation can only be described as 

 difficult, with those who man the vessels feeling somewhat separated from 

 the organization they serve (NMFS). Budget constraints have intensified 

 and further complicated the problem. 



Ideally, a research vessel should meet the following criteria: 



• It should be a stable platform; 



The vessel should have the necessary range for extended cruises; 



