30 



Oceanography — The Ten Years Ahead 



keting problem. That this last is not trivial is illus- 

 trated by the availability of some wholesome fish 

 foods in considerable quantities which are present- 

 ly wasted due to local conventions or legal restric- 

 tions. Finally and of much interest to both mar- 

 ginal fish industries and underdeveloped nations 

 bordering on the sea, a program devoted to in- 

 creasing the yield of the sea itself is planned. In- 

 troducing new species into at present unoccupied 

 food niches in the marine community, modifying 

 the environment to favor food fish over predators, 

 placing fish shelters on areas with barren bottoms, 

 and the addition of trace elements and nutrients 

 to fertilize the oceans, at least locally, are all under 

 study. 



To carry out this program, the Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries estimates it requires 25 new ships 

 in addition to the 20 now operating in oceanog- 

 raphy and seven new laboratories. By the end of 

 the decade, they should have a total of 41 ships, 

 considering retirements, and 27 laboratories. In 

 addition, they expect to have a medium-depth 

 underwater research vehicle, a mesoscaphe, which 

 they will share with the Bureau of Mines. Their 

 proposed expenditures over the ten-year interval 

 would run somewhat over $350 million. 



2. WORLD HEALTH 



The Atomic Energy Commission has monitored 

 radioactive contamination produced by detona- 

 tion of nuclear devices, wastes from reactors, 

 and effects from nuclear-powered ships since 1944 

 when the first materials were introduced into the 

 environment. Since then the disposal of packaged 

 wastes in both the Atlantic and Pacific by several 

 nations has occurred in amounts sufficient to 

 warrant continued close routine monitoring and 

 the refinement of limits on maximum permissible 

 concentration. Future hazards from accidents in- 

 volving nuclear propulsion systems, both water- 

 borne and missile-connected, are under study, as 

 is the prediction of the consequences from nuclear 

 detonations of all kinds. The research program 

 concerns the appearance and distribution of radio- 

 activity in marine organisms, in the sea itself, and 

 in the sediments and rocks under the sea, through 

 chemical as well as physical and biological proc- 

 esses. It is of necessity mainly basic rather than 

 applied and is expected to run about $68 million 



over the next ten years. The AEC plans to build 

 no ships of its own but will continue to use those of 

 other agencies. 



3. COOPERATIVE ASPECTS 



Although increasing competition and conflict 

 are possible in man's increasing use of the world 

 ocean for its fish and to dispose of his wastes, the 

 possibilities of cooperation for mutual benefit and 

 the support of underdeveloped nations are also 

 great. The past history of regulation of the whal- 

 ing, halibut fishing and fur sealing industries 

 augurs well for future accommodations among the 

 competitive nations. The potentialities of surveys 

 and studies in direct support of the fisheries of 

 such underdeveloped nations as the Ivory Coast 

 and Nigeria have only partially been realized. In 

 addition to improving the material well-being of 

 such nations, a cooperative program enlisting 

 nationals of such countries as participants could 

 serve to introduce them into at least one aspect of 

 modern science and perhaps pave the way for fur- 

 ther scientific progress in other fields. The Inter- 

 national Indian Ocean and the Tropical Atlantic 

 expeditions currently dominate the international 

 oceanographic picture, although other interna- 

 tional programs are in various stages of develop- 

 ment. 



D. Management of Resources in 

 Domestic Waters 



I. PROTECTION OF U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH 



(4 Percent 1 963- 1 972 Effort; 



I Percent Basic, 3 Percent Applied) 



Closely allied to the preceding goal is the direct 

 protection of the health of the U.S. public from 

 industrial or radioactive wastes and other forms 

 of pollution. The AEC program, particularly that 

 concerned with monitoring and studying the 

 effects of reactor wastes carried to sea by rivers, 

 makes a contribution to this goal, but it is the 

 Public Health Service which carries the main effort 



The Public Health Service oceanographic ac- 

 tivities are an integral part of a continuing pro- 

 gram of research on health hazards and of the 

 environment taken as a whole. The oceanographic 

 aspects center on water pollution surveys and 

 shellfish sanitation and are carried out in close 

 connection with state programs. During the next 

 ten years, the Public Health Service will focus 



