1. Arctic Marine Laboratory with controlled environmental facili- 
ties for the maintenance and study of communities and organisms of 
Arctic waters, including studies of subfreezing temperatures. Its loca- 
tion should be adjacent to northern waters to permit direct support 
of field studies of Arctic marine environments as well as laboratory 
investigations. 
2. Tropical Marine Laboratory with controlled environmental fa- 
cilities for maintenance and study of communities and organisms of 
tropical regions. Its location should be tropical to permit support of 
field studies of tropical marine environments as well as laboratory 
investigations. 
3. Temperate Zone Marine Laboratory with controlled environ- 
mental facilities for maintenance and study of communities and or- 
ganisms of the temperate seas, especially those of the open oceans, 
including food fishes. Its location should be readily accessible to the 
open sea to permit direct support of field studies as well as laboratory 
investigations. 
Supply of Marine Organisms. Important advances in biology and 
medicine often result from discovery of an experimental organism 
ideally suited for exploration of the biological system being studied. 
In fact, so often do we see a correlation between breakthrough and 
experimental organism that we suspect the ready availability of ex- 
ploitable biological systems may provide the key to rapid expansion in 
many biological disciplines (see sec. 6.4). 
No center currently exists from which living marine organisms 
can be obtained in good supply, although there are already centers 
where stocks of certain biological materials can be acquired. A na- 
tional center for distribution of marine animals should be established. 
Such a center, however, should be developed around certain prerequi- 
sites. It must, for example, be located near major air transport facil- 
ities. The center should also enable culture and supply of animals 
in a synthetic medium which can be controlled and which is repro- 
ducible. The center should have a good collecting staff, and it should 
be physically able to obtain, hold, and supply organisms which are 
seasonal in occurrence and which do not occur in the immediate 
area. The center may eventually but will probably never reach a 
self-supporting status; therefore, continuing Federal support will 
probably be required. 
The National Fishery Center and Aquarium appears to be the 
agency which could best perform this service, and we recommend 
that funding be provided to operate and construct such a facility. The 
center would serve as an information clearinghouse concerning avail- 
ability of marine organisms which it would not routinely attempt to 
supply. 
100 
