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OCEANOGRAPHY 



FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1960 



House of Representatives, 

 Special Subcommittee on Oceanography of itie 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washingt07i^ D.C. 

 The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to adjournament, in 

 room 219, Old House Office Building, Plon. George P. Miller (cliair- 

 man of the subcommittee) presiding. 



Mr. MiELER. The committee will come to order. I understand, Mr. 

 McKeman, you have a statement that you would like to make at tliis 

 time. We welcome you, sir. We are always glad to see yon. 



STATEMENT OF DONALD L. McKERNAN, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OE 

 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. DE- 

 PARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



^Ir. McKernan. ]SIr. Chairman, I have no prepared statement with 

 me, but I am here to discuss with you the Department's reports on 

 the tlii'e« bills which are currently before this cormnittee. 



The chairman is aware that we in the Department appeared before 

 this committee and presented extensive testimony with respect to the 

 Department's and Bureau's elforts in the field of cK-eanogTaphy. I am 

 sure the chainnan would not like this material repeated again, since 

 it is already in the record. 



I would like to address myself to the bills that the chairman and 

 the committee have before them. I think it rather important, ^Ir. 

 Chairman, to indicate to the committee the importance which the 

 Department places on your efforts in behalf of oceanogi-aphy. 



You have heard for the last several days of the importance of 

 oceanographj^ in the defense of our country. I am sure the chair- 

 man is well aware of the imi)ortance of the living resources of the sea. 

 I personally am of the opinion that the biological research on the 

 oceans has lagged behind and a great deal of practical research is 

 needed in most helds of biological oceanography, as in fact in the 

 physical and other aspects of oceanography. 



We in the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries must use basic research 

 in order to insure the maximum utilization of the living resources 

 of the sea surrounding our country. We realize that we are pretty 

 well scraping the bottom of the barrel in man}- respects and uidess 

 somehow we increase the level of research in the basic aspects of bio- 

 logical oceanography it appears we are not going to have infornuition 

 available to use by which we can make intelligent decisions concerning 

 the rational use of the living resources of the sea. 



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