simply unfamiliar to the average American — are the "wallflowers" 

 of the sea. They are either underharvested or caught mainly for 

 export to countries where they are considered delicacies. Nearly all 

 Sea Grant institutions are engaged in programs related to assessing, 

 harvesting, processing, and marketing these neglected species. 



Traditionally, seafood processing companies have separated the 

 most desirable and easily obtainable parts of fish, shellfish, and 

 crustaceans, discarding remaining portions in nearby waters. Now, 

 increasingly strict water-pollution regulations are forcing 

 processors to find other, more costly, methods of disposal or to seek 

 markets for the waste products. Sea Grant scientists are developing 

 methods of recovering greater quantities of fish flesh for human 

 consumption. Inexpensive, protein-rich food products are being 

 created by extending minced fish food with vegetables and cereal 

 products. Other investigators are processing former wastes into 

 foods for fish, poultry, and animals. 



In addition to being sources of protein and of industrially useful 

 materials, the living creatures and plants of the sea contain an 

 astonishing variety of substances that act against diseases of 

 animals and humans. Sea Grant scientists at several institutions are 

 attempting to isolate these substances, test their pharmaceutical 

 value, and identify their chemical structure so that they may be 

 produced and marketed by commercial firms. 



Sea Grant institutions are also exploring and evaluating offshore 

 mineral resources [chapter III), developing new techniques for 

 recovering them, and examining the environmental effects, as well 

 as the social, economic, and legal aspects of exploiting marine 

 mineral deposits. 



THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT 



Since the National Sea Grant Program began, its member insti- 

 tutions have been assembling environmental, social, economic, and 

 legal information on their States' coastal regions — examining the 

 impacts of man's activities there and the factors affecting manage- 

 ment of the coastal zone. 



Under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, administered by 

 NOAA's OCZM, States are responsible for developing and carrying 

 out comprehensive plans for managing their coastal zones. The 

 Office of Sea Grant works closely with OCZM, as members of the 

 Sea Grant network do with the responsible State agencies, in helping 

 to achieve the act's objectives. 



Virtually all Sea Grant institutions have assisted State agencies in 

 developing coastal zone management plans; conducting needed 

 scientific, economic, or demographic studies; compiling local. State, 



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