mechanisms are never able to overcome, has 

 caused an inevitable degree of insidarity, 

 overlap, and competition. But perhaps most 

 significant, their isolation has made it very 

 difficult to launch a comprehensive and inte- 

 grated program to remove the obstacles that 

 stand in the way of full utilization of the 

 oceans and their resources. 



The proliferation of marine activities 

 places an unnecessary burden on the Presi- 

 dent and the Congress. Through the National 

 Council for Marine Resources and Engineer- 

 ing Development, commendable progress has 

 been made in the planning and coordination 

 of Federal marine activities. But Federal 

 councils are limited in their power to act and 

 cannot fully compensate for fundamental 

 shortcomings in the organization of oper- 

 ating agencies. Nor can a President's staff, 

 for long, be the active proponent of a na- 

 tional ocean program which may be in 

 competition with other urgent national 

 programs. 



It is our conviction that the objective of the 

 national ocean program recommended by this 

 Commission can be achieved only by creating 

 a strong civil agency within the Federal Gov- 

 ernment with adequate authority and ade- 

 quate resources. No such agency now exists, 

 and no existing single Federal agency pro- 

 vides an adequate base on which to build 

 such an organization. For the national ocean 

 effort we propose, unified management of cer- 

 tain key functions is essential. 



Analysis of marine requirements and pro- 

 grams shows a number of general-purpose 

 activities, like environmental monitoring and 

 prediction, that serve common needs of many 

 government and private users and of the 

 general public. Many of these activities are 

 strongly interrelated, are based on common 

 technology, and are conducted on a glolial 

 scale ; their effective implementation requires 

 overall systems management which can be 



achieved only if they arc brought together 

 under a single head. In other cases — fisheries 

 development is an example — the objective is 

 so dependent upon knowledge of the sea en- 

 vironment that an association with other ele- 

 ments of an overall marine program promises 

 major advances in effectiveness. 



The Federal agency created to implement 

 the national ocean program must be of a size 

 and scope commensurate with the magnitude, 

 importance, and complexity of the problems 

 it seeks to solve, the services it seeks to render, 

 and its potential contribution to the well- 

 being of society. Only in this way can the 

 organization become an effective claimant for 

 the funds needed to carry out tlie program 

 or develop the sti-ength needed to give leader- 

 ship and coherence to the total national effort. 

 A broad mission to advance the more effec- 

 tive use of the sea and our understanding of 

 the total sea-air environment will assure 

 flexibility for the agency to meet new needs 

 and opportunities as they arise. Bringing 

 together functions now spread among 

 several agencies would create a national 

 capability to attack oceanic and atmospheric 

 problems which will be far more effective 

 than can be achieved through today's 

 scattered parts. 



Existing marine programs, however, do 

 not cover the full spectrum of funotions 

 necessary to meet the Nation's needs. New 

 programs must be created, and it is im- 

 portant that there be in the Federal Govern- 

 ment an agencj' with a sufficiently broad 

 mission and capabilities to provide for their 

 initiation and guide their development. In- 

 tegration of old and new elements will yield 

 an organization with the vigor and flexibility 

 needed to carry out Federal responsibilities 

 in the Commission's recommended plan. 



A strong operating agency with a broad 

 and coherent mission in marine, atmospheric, 

 and certain other geophysical sciences would 



