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Sea Grant College Program 



Texas A&M University • 1716 Briarcrest • Suite 702 

 .-^_^ ^, Bryan. Texas 77802 



April 13, 1993 



The Honorable Curt Weldon 

 Ranking Minority Member 

 U.S. House of Representatives 

 Cotnmittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf of Mexico and 

 the Outer Continental Shelf 

 Room 1334, Longworth House Office Building 

 Washington, D.C. 20515-6230 



Dear Congressman Weldon: 



1 am pleased to respond to the questions posed to me by you following my testimony 

 before the Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf 

 during the Hearing on the National Undersea Research Program on March 24. 



It is increasingly essential that federal and state marine research programs in the Gulf 

 coordinate their efforts to address the growing information needs identified by those charged 

 with the responsibility of managing and assuring the health of the Gulfs marine ecosystem and 

 resources. Programmatic coordination efforts in the Gulf are more common now than in the past. 

 NURP is a good example insofar as its objective is to provide field logistic support for research 

 projects funded primarily by other agencies. Other examples of collaboration at the program 

 level include the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, which coordinates its activities with virtually all 

 state and federal entities engaged in regional marine management and research. The Minerals 

 Management Service LATEX physical oceanography project has combined efforts with the 

 NOAA Coastal Ocean Program NECOP study to increase research productivity in their study of 

 physical-chemical-biological processes off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. The Sea Grant 

 Programs continually seek input from state and federal agencies concerrung perceived research 

 needs. 



The trend toward programmatic coordination of research in the Gulf is in the correct 

 direction, but has a long way to go. One of the greatest deficiencies at present is the lack of a 

 Gulf-wide research plan specifying and prioritizing environmental research needs, which would 

 serve as a guidance document for the agencies. In fact, such a plan is in preparation through the 

 joint efforts of Sea Grant, the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, and the Regional Marine Research 

 Board, which has appointees from all the Governors offices, EPA and NOAA. 



Associated with this is the immediate need for a current, and continually updated, 

 descriptive catalog of marine research projects in the Gulf If this existed, it would be a "best- 

 seller" within the research community, and it would be a key element in facilitating cooperative 

 research, increasing research efficiency, and reducing redundancy. 



