have since been convened. An Executive Secretary was appointed by 

 the President and sworn in at the first Council meeting. A full time 

 professional staff, provided for in the legislation, is being assembled. 

 The staff is composed of specialists in ocean sciences, engineering, 

 national security affairs, economics, foreign affairs, and public adminis- 

 tration. It maintains working relations with the Congress, key offi- 

 cials of the Executive Office of the President, Federal and State agen- 

 cies, industry, the academic community, and professional societies to 

 insure that considerations affecting all marine science interests are 

 brought to the attention of the Council. 



The Marine Sciences Council is not an operating agency. Its pur- 

 pose is to assist the President in identifying Government-wide goals, in 

 developing alternative strategies for their achievement, in identifying 

 issues, and in reaching an informed decision. Helping the operating 

 agencies to do their jobs is a prime objective of the Council, but the 

 agencies must rely on their own budgetary resources to carry out pro- 

 grams called for in their organic legislation. When missions are the 

 statutory responsibility of more than one agency, the Council may 

 serve the Government-wide interest by recommending one agency as- 

 sume responsibility for planning, guiding, and coordinating a multi- 

 agency program. Each participating agency, however, retains man- 

 agement and budgetary responsibility for its element of the program. 



The Interagency Committee on Oceanography has been supporting 

 the activities of the Council as an essential mechanism for compiling 

 and disseminating information about the many detailed aspects of the 

 various agency programs. ICO panels are being realigned and new 

 Council panels established to reflect the enlarged program and to be 

 of more assistance to the designated lead agencies and the Council. 



The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Oceanography 

 continues to serve as a source of scientific advice on oceanographic 

 matters. For ten years, the committee has helped chart the course of 

 Federal marine science activities, and it issued a landmark report in 

 1959 and is preparing another. The National Academy of Engineer- 

 ing's Committee on Ocean Engineering, as well as other offices of the 

 two academies, together with numerous professional and industrial 

 societies, also provide marine sciences advice to Government agencies 

 and the Council. 



24 



