122 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 



detail the programs which they are carrying out. This is a marvelous 

 mechanism for associating the people of other agencies with these 

 projects, and acquainting them with the work done. 



Mr. Dingell. Well, concededly, it is very good, but the point I 

 am getting at is this: Are you directing, or does the Coordinating 

 Committee of ICO direct its attention to any supervisory scrutiny, 

 to assure that coordination takes place? 



Mr. Abel. Very informally, sir, the panel chairmen, and most 

 of the panel members, commonly attend all of the CCO meetings, 

 and by a process of absorption are thereby acquainted with the value 

 of these meetings, and the information that is disseminated therein. 



Mr. Dingell. Well, I will concede there is value in these meetings, 

 but that still does not resolve the question. Are we better having a 

 mere interchange of information, or should we direct ourselves at 

 having a more forceful coordination program? That is what this 

 committee is interested in, and apparently these are excellent forums, 

 excellent insofar as interchange of information, but the point I am 

 leading to is: Are they adequate, in view of the fact that it appears 

 to me, at least on first blush, that there is need for actual and quite 

 forceful coordination in some instances? 



Now, how we work this, I do not know. I would like to have your 

 comments. 



Mr. Abel. Yes, sir; the ICO does not exercise a command authority 

 over the Coordinating Committee on Oceanography. The Coordi- 

 nating Committee on Oceanography is an informal structure. It 

 exists simply because there is value received from it, and it is neces- 

 sary to the ICO members and their staff men, and the Panel Chair- 

 men, to know what is going on. 



This is the essence of the work they do, and this is one mechanism 

 by which they obtain this information. 



Mr. Dingell. Now let us take a case in point. Let us take the 

 instance where we have all of these shellfish research organizations 

 being conducted by at least two agencies of the Government, up and 

 down the east and west coast: some dealing with the impact of shell- 

 fish on human beings; some dealing with the impact of pollution on 

 shellfish; and one thing and another. 



How do we utilize an instrumentality which exists solely for the 

 interchange of information to determine priorities necessary to assure 

 that we will have one facility where one facility will do the job; or 

 two, rather than three or six or nine? 



Mr. Abel. I am insufficiently acquainted with that particular 

 situation, Mr. Chairman, but I can answer in the broad sense, that 

 in order to achieve coordination, you first must have knowledge. 

 And whether you obtain the knowledge from systematic perusal of 

 reports or from listening to people telling you what is going on is 

 immaterial ; but you have to have the input of knowledge. 



This seems to me to be one excellent mechanism for doing this; 

 for instance, taking this case without going into the details of it, 

 there are Federal agencies who exercise sponsorship of some of these 

 projects you are speaking of. 



Now within the course of the coordinating committee meetings, 

 it is probable that someone associated with these projects will be 

 describing them, and this is the instance for pickup on the part of the 

 panel members, and the panel chairmen, whose responsibilities lie 

 therein. 



