154 



We feel at the same time that because now we don't have the knowl- 

 edge we have to be very cautious about any commitment as the state- 

 ment says nationally or internationally as to ownership of these un- 

 known resources. 



Mr. Frelinghuysen. Your constant reference to "we" is the De- 

 partment of the Interior ? 



Dr. Cain. Yes. 



Mr. Frelinghutsen. Maybe it is a misnomer, if we are talking about 

 resources beyond the continental shelf, to refer to the Department 

 of the Interior. I would think it should be called "Exterior." 



Dr. Cain. I admit it doesn't fit very well. It is an ancient and 

 honorable name. We are the agency concerned with natural resources, 

 including marine. 



Mr. Frelinghtjtsen. You talk about the need for increased acquisi- 

 tion of knowledge about the depths. Do you feel this should be a 

 national responsibility rather than an international responsibility, 

 or it is a combination of the two that you would envisage ? 



Dr. Cain. We already participate, we, in this case, being the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior, in many open ocean investigations, many of 

 which are worked out cooperatively or compatibly with research of 

 other nations through various kinds of international agreements. So 

 we believe that Interior has a proper role — I know Interior has 

 had a history of strong leadership in research and exploration of the 

 oceans. 



Mr. Frelinghuysen. In cooperation with others, do we automati- 

 cally make available the results of our exploration to other countries? 



Dr. Cain. We do. We have international arrangements. Mr. Terry 

 is a specialist in this field, at least in the living resources of the sea. 

 Perhaps you would like to have him speak about it. 



We work in eight international treaty organizations and research 

 is involved in relation to most of them. A good deal of this is done on 

 an international basis and involves the exchange of research data. 



Mr. Frelinghuysen. I think, Mr. Chairman, it would be useful if 

 Mr. Terry would supplement what Dr. Cain has been talking about. 



Mr. Fascell. Mr. Terry. 



STATEMENT OE WILLIAM M. TERRY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, 

 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISH- 

 ERIES, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



Mr. Terry. Mr. Chairman, in the field of living marine resources, 

 that is to say fishery resources, the United States is a party to almost 

 a dozen international agreements ranging from bilateral agreements 

 with Canada to multilateral agreements involving as many as 17 

 nations, the majority of which have as their objective the investiga- 

 tion of fishery resources which is the object of multinational fisheries. 



The end effect of the investigation is to determine the effect of fishing 

 on the resources and looking to the formulation of conservation 

 measures which would prevent overfishing. 



When these resources are exploited by fishermen from several 

 nations, the evaluation of research, the interpretation of its results 

 and the formulation, as well as the application, of conservation 

 measures must be an international or multinational thing in order 

 to be effective. 



