A. Control of, or protection against, marine biological com- 

 ponents interfering with naval operations, and 



B. Utilization of marine biological elements and information 

 towards the enhancement of naval operations. 



A. Control of Marine Biological Interference with Naval 

 Operations. 



1. Prevention and control of marine biological deterioration 

 and fouling: It has been conservatively estimated that the annual 

 cost to the Navy alone for the protection and maintenance of ships, 

 waterfront structures, and outboard equipmient against marine bio- 

 logical deterioration and fouling is approximately $100, 000, 000. 

 This figure does not include the costs of increased fuel require- 

 ments or the costs of overcoming the logistic and supply problems 

 resulting from marine boring or fouling damage. This problem is 

 further complicated by the fact that nnany of the protective agents 

 which were developed since World War II are incompatible with 

 the optimum operational characteristics of a number of modern 

 special purpose components, equipments, and systems. As a con- 

 sequence, the Navy is engaged in a never-ending search for new 

 means of controlling the activities of marine organisms responsible 

 for deterioration and fouling. The review and assessment of this 

 problem by the scientists engaged in fundamental hydrobiological 

 research under Navy auspices has resulted in a reorientation of 

 the Navy's research and developmental activities in the field of 

 marine protection. It deemphasizes the empirical "trial and error" 

 approach to the development of new protective agents. Instead, it 

 stresses the importance of understanding the vital processes which 

 govern the life cycles and behavior of the organisms causing de- 

 terioration and fouling with the objective of characterizing the 

 "weak links" in the chain of vital proce sse s, i.e., those basic 

 functions which are susceptible to external control. Obtaining 

 this information is a requisite for the development of whole 

 "famiilies" of control agents which can be "custom tailored" to 

 protect in manners compatible with the efficient operation of a 

 particular naval equipnnent or system. 



Progress: The Hydrobiology Program has yielded bas^ic in- 

 formation showing that certain types of molluscan fouling organ- 

 isms depend on an enzyme to control the rate of shell deposition. 

 Also, it appears that this enzyme can be inhibited by external 

 means. A number of substances have been tested in the laboratory 

 to determine their effectiveness as enzyme inhibitors. Several of 

 them show considerable promise and are being field evaluated to 

 determine their suitability for actual use in the field. Also, con- 



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