routing services to naval and merchant ships (the Depot of Charts 
and Instruments—1830, now the Naval Oceanographic Office). In 
assuming these responsibilities, the Government sought practical solu- 
tions to practical problems, principally in the fields of navigation and 
fisheries. 
In the 19th century, the scientific community emerged to give new 
direction to our efforts at sea. Here, as in Europe, naturalists with 
an interest in the marine environment were essentially landbound, 
working from small boats in shallow waters and along beaches. A 
few men, however, sought a broader understanding of the ocean’s 
‘processes, boundaries, and contents. Their research required the 
collection of data over broad ocean areas, but only the Government 
was in a position to provide the facilities for such oceanwide studies. 
Throughout most of the century, the Navy, the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution (founded in 1846) encouraged 
scientists to accompany Government-sponsored expeditions. The 
Navy, through the efforts of Matthew Fontaine Maury, requested 
mariners to make systematic observations of winds and currents from 
merchant vessels so that forecasts could be made of sailing conditions 
in distant oceans. 
Thus, research and data collection—insofar as it was relevant to an 
agency’s mission—was encouraged and often supported by the Federal 
Government. By the early 1870’s, for example, our New England 
fisheries clearly required a scientific basis for management. But few 
scientists were then available in Government to provide this support. 
Fortunately, the Smithsonian Institution—the only Government 
agency at that time with a charter permitting it to conduct basic 
research—was able to encourage naturalists to perform research for 
the U.S. Fish Commission. Spencer F. Baird, assistant secretary of 
the Smithsonian, became first Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries 
(1871): 
By the turn of the century, working relationships with the scientific 
community—small as it then was—had been established by all agencies 
with ocean-oriented missions. Industry, too, had a stake in the modest 
but active programs of these agencies, especially the fishing and ship- 
ping interests. Furthermore, strong international ties had been estab- 
lished between marine scientists in the United States and Europe. 
Following World War I, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Fish Com- 
mission, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey continued their essentially 
descriptive work at sea. Nevertheless, there was concern on the part 
of the recently established National Research Council (NRC) of the 
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that the marine sciences in 
the United States lacked sufficient scientific leadership. In contrast 
to Europe, where marine scientists enjoyed wide government support 
and recognition, the United States had few institutional facilities for 
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