REPORT ON OCEANOGRAPHY 7 



The greatest deterrent to the development of oceanography at 

 present is the lack of trained personnel. With the growth of the cen- 

 ters of oceanography the problem of personnel will gradually be solved. 



All the peoples of the Pacific are dependent upon the sea, yet the 

 average person is wholly ignorant of this medium. There should be 

 established in the schools and universities of the several nations elemen- 

 tary courses dealing with oceanography. Such courses would be purely 

 of an informative and cultural nature and presented in order to give a 

 general knowledge of the oceans and the many organisms contained 

 therein to the occasional student so that he would be inspired to resume 

 further studies in one of the fields of oceanography. 



Since the war many fellowships have been made available which 

 enable students to study in countries other than their own. Experience 

 to date indicates that these fellowships create potentialities for better 

 international understanding than any other system yet devised. This 

 Congress should go on record as urging the establishment of further 

 fellowships, particularly in the several phases of oceanography. 



A standing committee of the Pacific Science Association usually con- 

 sists of six to ten members. The chairman is appointed by the President 

 of the association and has the power to act and name the members of 

 his committee. He works in cooperation with the chairman of the 

 local organizing committee in the preparation of programs and plans 

 for a forthcoming Pacific Science Congress and with the secretariat on 

 other matters. This general plan of operation has many desirable 

 features. 



In forming the Standing Committee on Oceanography there are 

 many factors to be considered, chief among which are to secure a proper 

 representation of the various specialities in oceanography and a satis- 

 factory geographic distribution of the members. In selecting the mem- 

 bership of the committee the chairman has sought the advice of many 

 colleagues. He has received suggestions from representatives of govern- 

 mental organizations, and some oceanographers, eager to further the 

 advances of oceanography, have volunteered their services. Sometime 

 ago the chairman saw the advisability of sub-dividing the committee in 

 order to insure a better specialization of geographic representation. 

 The Standing Committee on Oceanography at present consists of 32 

 members, which includes the chairman, the secretary and three sub- 

 committees of ten members each. The subcommittees cover the fields 

 of physical oceanography, oceanic biology and the fisheries, and each 

 subcommittee is headed by a chairman. 



As the result of experience in forming the present committee, cor- 

 respondence with several members of the committee and with oceanog- 

 raphers not affiliated with it, the chairman and the secretary have 



