88 ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCES 



6. International cooperation 



Oceanography is a natural area of opportunity for extensive inter- 

 national cooperation. Indeed, S3^stematic surveys and research in all 

 the oceans of the world represent tasks of such formidable magnitude 

 that international sharing of the work is a necessity. 



Our present maps of the oceans are comparable in accuracy and 

 detail to maps of the land areas of the earth in the early part of the 

 18th century. Precise methods of measuring ocean depths have 

 become available during the last 10 years, and these, when combined 

 with new developments in navigation, should make possible for the 

 first time modern maps of the topography of the entire sea floor. An 

 accurate mapping of the oceans will require international cooperation 

 in ship operations and in establishing a worldwide system of naviga- 

 tion. In these endeavors the United States can play a leading part. 



This year an Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission is 

 being established under UNESCO to provide a means whereby 

 interested countries can cooperate m research and in making survej^s 

 and maps of the deep sea floor, the ocean waters, and their contained 

 organisms. Membership on the Commission is open to all comitries 

 of the U.N. family that desire to cooperate in oceanography. The 

 United States intends to participate fully in the activities of the 

 Commission. 



The United States also will participate in the International Indian 

 Ocean Expedition. Many nations, including the Soviet Union, are 

 cooperating in this expedition under the nongovernmental sponsor- 

 ship of the International Council of Scientific Unions. Over a quarter 

 of the world's people live in the comitries surrounding the Indian 

 Ocean. If more can be learned of the Indian Ocean's extensive food 

 resources, these nations can be helped to develop and expand their 

 fishing industries as part of their general economic development. 



7. The Coast Guard 



At present, the Coast Guard enabling legislation limits the extent 

 to which the Coast Guard can engage in scientific research. Only 

 the International Ice Patrol is authorized to make such studies. I 

 recommend that the statutory limitations restricting the participation 

 by the Coast Guard in oceanographic research be removed. With 

 ocean weather stations, deep sea thermometers, and other data collec- 

 tion devices, our Coast Guard can make a valuable contribution to 

 the oceanographic program. 



CONCLUSION 



Knowledge and understanding of the oceans promise to assume 

 greater and greater importance in the future. This is not a 1-year 

 program — or even a 10-year program. It is the first step in a con- 

 tinuing effort to acquire and apply the information about a part of 

 our world that will ultimately determine conditions of life in the rest 

 of the world. The opportunities are there. A vigorous program will 

 capture those opportunities. 



Sincerely, 



John F. Kennedy. 

 Hon. Lyndon B. Johnson, 



President of the U.S. Senate, 

 Washinrjton, D.C. 



