1930’s. While emphasizing oceanography as an interdisciplinary sci- 
ence, the NASCO panels addressed themselves to such subjects as 
marine resource development, ocean engineering, and man’s effect 
upon the ocean environment—all very “practical” concerns directly 
related to the national interest. Programs that had never been recog- 
nized as “oceanography” in its classical sense were considered: Ma- 
rine biology ; water pollution control; shellfish sanitation; recreation ; 
and coastal] and deep ocean engineering. “Oceanography” had been 
broadened to include many aspects of man’s activities in or on the 
ocean. 
In considering the problems identified by its panels, the Academy 
was concerned, on the one hand, with an assessment of the needs of 
the field, and on the other, with such limitations on its development 
as the rate at which ships and facilities could be built and new man- 
power trained. The report concluded that: “Action on a scale appre- 
ciably less than that recommended will jeopardize the position of 
oceanography in the United States relative to the position of the sci- 
ences in other major nations, thereby accentuating serious military 
and politica] dangers, and placing the Nation at a disadvantage in the 
future use of the resources of the sea.” 
When released in 1959, the first chapters of the 12-volume report 
catalyzed action by both the executive and the legislative branches of 
Government. In the Senate, a resolution concurring in the NASCO 
recommendations passed unanimously. A subcommittee on Oceanog- 
raphy was established by the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries 
Committee. Legislation was enacted to strengthen the marine sci- 
ences by removing certain statutory limitations upon the Coast Guard, 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Geological Survey, enabling these 
agencies to participate in broader oceanographic work. In the ex- 
ecutive branch, the recommendations were considered by the Presi- 
dent’s Science Advisory Committee (PSAC), which had earlier con- 
cluded that oceanography was a neglected field requiring additional 
emphasis. The PSAC endorsed the objectives of the report and com- 
mended it for action to the newly established Federal Council for 
Science and Technology. 
At the Council’s request, the President’s Science Adviser estab- 
lished a Subcommittee on Oceanography in mid-1959, with repre- 
sentatives from the Departments of Defense, Interior, and Commerce, 
the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Science Foundation, 
and the Bureau of the Budget. 
The Subcommmittee on Oceanography, in turn, examined ways by 
which an overall and integrated national program in oceanography 
might be initiated by the Federal Government. The Subcommittee’s 
report recognized that “the resources of the sea are of interest to 
every major department and agency of the Government, and that the 
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