and programs should aid all interested parties to develop their inde- 

 pendent activities and relationships against a backdrop of national 

 purposes and directions. 



Federal Activities 



Previous legislation has provided for marine science functions and 

 services to be undertaken in eleven Federal agencies, related to the core 

 mission of each. This distribution by agency, shown in Table I, indi- 

 cates both the breadth and the complexity of involvement. This 

 pattern also highlights the importance of coordination in Federal 

 programs. 



Appendices to this report contain program and funding details of 

 the individual agencies. The chapters dealing with new areas for 

 emphasis, however, treat activities on a Government- wide basis so as to 

 show^ both individual and collective efforts to serve a common set of 

 national goals. 



Coordinating Federal Programs 



To meet the need for a coordinated Federal effort, the Interagency 

 Committee on Oceanography (ICO) of the Federal Council on Sci- 

 ence and Technology has, since 1959, brought together programs of 

 Government agencies into the framework of a National Oceanographic 

 Program. The ICO published annual summaries of agency activities 

 and other oceanographic reports.^ Specialized panels developed inter- 

 national programs, an interagency buoy program, and information as 

 to instrumentation and equipment, manpower, engineering, surveys, 

 research, and ships. 



During the past several years, a sense of urgency has been felt in the 

 Congress and the Executive Branch to strengthen this multiagency 

 Federal effort, to intensify momentum and improve overall effective- 

 ness. This has come about through the recognition of the undersea 

 threat to our national security ; the emerging significance of science and 

 technology as instruments of world affairs ; and increased international 

 interest in the exploitation of marine resources. Our lack of knowl- 

 edge of the sea — together with the development of new tools for ex- 

 ploring its secrets — has further underscored this urgency. 



During the past five years, a number of new laws have been enacted 

 in the marine sciences area. As shown in Table II, these new laws 

 strengthen existing statutory authority in the present family of Fed- 

 eral agencies, without establishing any new operating entities. How- 

 ever, the 1966 Marine Science Act goes beyond this: in the past eight 



1 These include : "National Oceanographic Program for Fiscal Year 1967" ; "Ship Oper- 

 ating Schedules for FY 1967" ; "University Curricula in Oceanography — Academic Year 

 1965-66" ; "Aquatic Sciences in the Great Lakes Area" ; "Oceanic Research in Foreign 

 Waters" ; and "Scientific and Technical Personnel in Oceanography." 



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