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the past 25 years, the scale and importance of ocean issues has 

 increased dramatically. We have learned much about how the 

 system works and what the pressures are. At the same time, we 

 face decreasing financial resources with which to work. 



The oceans are important to the Nation as a driver of weather and 

 climate; as a marine highway to link the United States with the 

 global economy; as a vital source of food, oil and gas, new 

 medicines and other resources for sustainable economic 

 development; as a source of recreational opportunities; as a 

 theater for defense; and as a source of minerals, energy 

 production and biological resources in the future. NOAA works 

 actively with the U.S. Navy, the Departments of State and the 

 Interior, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection 

 Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Mapping Agency, 

 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National 

 Science Foundation, and the intelligence community. NOAA. also 

 works with private industry, states, academia, and environmental 

 organizations . 



However, this multi-agency effort falls short in meeting critical 

 national goals. This short-coming costs the Nation in lost ocean 

 potential, and these costs will grow as the importance of the 

 oceans grows. Just three examples to highlight here: The Nation's 

 research budget is declining, and with it the ocean research 

 budget. The ocean science community has not fared well for 

 resources vis-a-vis the research community-at-large . For 

 example, an anylisis by CORE, ocean research has dropped from 

 about 7 percent to less than 4 percent of federal basic research 

 money in the last 14 years, even as ocean issues have increased 

 in importance and complexity. A second point involves our fleet. 

 NOAA must be able to go to sea for everything from research to 

 operations, yet our resources for sea-going facilities, whether 

 in house or contracted out, are diminishing. There is no 

 certainty that NOAA can gain replacement ship services for equal 

 or less cost. In a third example, opportunities for NOAA to 

 leverage multi-billion dollar defense systems before they degrade 

 or are shut dov/n, are being lost. 



The opportunities are enormous: There is more to be learned 

 about air- sea interaction; there is more to be learned before we 

 achieve sustainable marine fisheries; and there is much to be 

 done before we can maximize the use of the oceans for 

 transportation, industry, and recreation. Support must be 

 available for the infrastructure required to obtain data, process 

 it, distribute it, and archive it. 



During NOAA' s quarter century, much has been learned about how 

 the oceans interact with the atmosphere to influence weather and 

 climate. Much has been learned about the limits of marine living 

 resources and about the broad threats that marine ecosystems 

 face. And much has been done to improve the quality of products 



