management of fishery resources by almost $6 million, while U.S. Coast 

 ouard (USCG) expenditures for the enforcement of fishery treaties will 

 rise to $3.6 million. With respect to energy-related activiti(!S. the en- 

 vironment assessment tifforts of DOl and DOC in support of the DOI 

 OCS leasing program are to be augmented by $14 million. To establish 

 the basis for the long-term development of new energy sources. HRDA 

 will augment the funding of its ocean thermal energy conversion project 

 by $1.1 million to $9.2 million, more than triple the fiscal year 1975 

 budget for this project. 



The funding of coastal zone programs is projected to rise $12.8 million 

 in fiscal year 1977. This sum includes an additional 5.v3 million for 

 coastal zone management planning grants, an increase of almost 30 per- 

 cent. An increment of $1.1 million is being requested for the support of 

 ocean dumping research. Expenditures by the COE, in its dredge-permit 

 program, and by the USCG, for the development of pollution control 

 technology, will increase by $2 million and $4.9 million, respectively. 



The oceanographic research budget will be augmented by $15.9 

 million, $15.1 million of which is to be expended by the U.S. Navy (USN) 

 and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Office of Naval 

 Research is allocating an additional $4.9 million to its ocean science 

 program. NSF support of basic marine research will be increased by $4.6 

 million. Another $2.7 million will be added to the NSF budget for the In- 

 ternational Decade of Ocean Exploration and $3 million for the support 

 of facilities used in university ocean research programs. 



The rise in expenditures of two other ocean program categories can 

 be attributed largely to single projects for the development of platforms 

 needed for ocean observation and description. The ocean engineering 

 budget reflects an additional $8.3 million to be spent by NASA, in the 

 SEASAT project, for the development of an ocean observation satellite. 

 The increase in budgets for the production of nautical charts is the 

 results of costs to the Navy for the conversion of a ship to be used in 

 ocean survey programs. These platforms will provide data useful in en- 

 vironmental quality programs, resource management, transportation, 

 and other ocean activities. 



ABOUT THIS REPORT 



This year's report highlights the continuing effort to resolve law of 

 the sea problems and other international issues; the growing support for 

 economic, iegal. and social studies bearing on the development and con- 

 servation of marine resources and the coastal environment: pollution 

 abatement; and engineering investigations for undersea operations. Ap- 

 pendix A consists of the program budget tables. Appendix B summarizes 

 the activities of the Sea Grant Program, and appendix C tabulates the 

 status of the federally supported ocean research fleet. 



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