158 



capability to exploit them economically. De- 

 velopment of an efficient marine industry can 

 make the resources of the seas accessible to 

 the Nation and to the world, can assist U.S. 

 economic development, and can strengthen 

 the Nation's position in international trade. 



In the execution of its roles listed above, 

 the Government would set in motion a se- 

 quence of activities that would lead to in- 

 dustry's greater involvement in exploration, 

 technological development, and subsequent 

 economic utilization of marine resources. In 

 this way, a major objective of the Marine 

 Resources and Engineering Development Act 

 would be attained. 



More specifically, industry would be par- 

 ticularly encouraged to generate additional 

 ideas, methods, and risk capital for the de- 

 tailed surveying, delineating, producing, and 

 marketing of marine resources. These, of 

 course, would be done within the constraints 

 of proper conservation practices and equita- 

 ble solutions to multiple-user problems. 

 Industi-y will continue to be the ultimate pro- 

 ducer of the equipment required for explor- 

 ing and exploiting the oceans. Finally, under 

 a favorable climate, industry would have the 

 incentives to participate in developing the 

 manpower required for ocean operations 

 through in-house training programs and 

 through aid to university education and re- 

 search and the incentives to contribute to the 

 support of scientific research and the devel- 

 opment of fundamental technology. 



Industrial Activities and Attitudes 



Ocean industry embraces an extraordi- 

 narily heterogeneous complex of activities 

 with different operating requirements, levels 

 of investment, degrees of competition, and 

 relationships with Government. Government 

 action must not deal only with the common 

 problems all marine enterprises share; it also 

 must take account of the special needs and 



characteristics of particular industries and 

 their components. 



Table 4-3 depicts the present status of 

 domestic ocean industries in two broad 

 categories — existing indus*^ries and future in- 

 dustries. It lists only those industries that 

 use the ocean directly, excluding support 

 industries such as diving or instrument 

 manufacture. 



The dockside value of the resources taken 

 in 1967 by U.S. firms from the shelf and 

 waters adjacent to the United States has been 

 estimated by the Commission at $2 billion per 

 year. Of this amount, 50 per cent was from 

 petroleum, 15 per cent from gas, 20 per cent 

 from fish, and 15 per cent from other activ- 

 ities. But these amounts do not measure the 

 full contributions of the sea to the economy. 

 For example, although dockside value of fish 

 taken by U.S. firms from nearby waters was 

 only some $400 million annually, the retail 

 value of fish products — both domestic and 

 imported — marketed by U.S. firms was six 

 and one-half times this amount or more than 

 $2.6 billion. 



The Commission encountered severe diffi- 

 culties in its efforts to obtain accurate data to 

 describe industry activities in the oceans, and 

 it found little agreement on their overall con- 

 tribution to the Nation's economy. Improve- 

 ment of industry-related statistics will be an 

 important task of the proposed NOAA. 



In general, the Commission found that 

 ocean industry seeks from government 

 primarily : 



• Strengthening of basic services to improve 

 the efficiency and safety of their offshore 

 operations 



• Clarification of the legal status of their 

 activities in order to reduce investment 

 risks 



• Provision of pre- investment reconnais- 

 sance scale surveys and support of basic 

 technology. 



