Marine Science Affairs 



To assist in meeting these goals, the Council considered the following 

 policy issues during 1968: 



1. Strengthening the base for launching the International Decade 

 of Ocean Exploration, proposed by the President, which should provide 

 a broader and more effective framework for mobilizing the capabilities 

 of many nations in concerted efforts to understand ocean phenomena 

 and discover new ocean resources. Domestic and international planning 

 are increasing to provide for a more rational delineation of ocean re- 

 search and exploration priorities and responsibilities, and for improve- 

 ments in the quantity, usefulness, and timeliness of data exchanged 

 between scientists at home and abroad. 



2. Improving the international organizational structure for planning, 

 coordinating, and carrying out marine science programs of interest to 

 the international community which are currently fragmented among 

 a multiplicity of international organizations. The central role of the 

 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission is being clarified and 

 its ties with other marine science organizations strengthened to enable 

 it to serve as a focal point for coordinating international ocean research 

 activities. 



3. Developing a legal regime for the deep ocean floor which will 

 encourage private investment in development of seabed resources, re- 

 duce the possibilities of international conflicts and disputes, and promote 

 U.S. security, economic, political, and scientific interests. A key step 

 of the international community has been the establishment of a Com- 

 mittee of the U.N. General Assembly as a forum for considering a 

 seaward limit of national jurisdiction and an international regime gov- 

 erning seabed activities beyond this limit. Consideration of seabed arms 

 control measures should be primarily the responsibility of the Eighteen 

 Nation Disarmament Committee. 



4. Taking steps to encourage the States to carry out more effective 

 programs of planned use of the Coastal Zdne which take into account 

 the many varied potential uses of our limited shoreline that is rapidly 

 being subjected to more intensive human activities. State planning and 

 decision making processes should be strengthened and made more re- 

 sponsive to both national and local needs, and multi-state issues should 

 be given greater consideration in Coastal Zone planning and 

 management. 



5. Exploring with all interested parties the desirability and character 

 of a possible intergovernmental commission for the Chesapeake Bay 

 which is beset by conflicts between the many users of the estuary. Also, 

 multidisciplinary research activities concerning the impact of these con- 

 flicting uses are being focused around a hydraulic model of the Bay. 



6. Broadening the coordinating responsibility of the International 

 Joint Commission for activities in the Great Lakes since any change in 



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