OCEANOGRAPHY 1961 — PHASE 3 363 



bordering the United States. It was also proposed in this same group that the 

 new Federal marine game fish research program (Public Law 86-359) should 

 serve as the logical medium for coordination and stimulation of such a venture. 



My organization considers that this proposal has much merit. Addition of 

 the sums Sport Fishing Institute has already recommended for inclusion in the 

 1962 budget for the Department of the Interior, under the authorization of 

 Public Law 8&-359 — totaling $850,000 — though nominal in the scale of oceanog- 

 raphic planning, would go far toward helping to overcome a serious problem by 

 getting a start on such a program. It would provide effectively for the initial 

 coordination and stimulation needed to bring together the available talent of 

 coastal State governments and numerous independent small coastal biological 

 laboratories in a concerted joint effort having tremendous potential both for 

 developing the marine sport fisheries and filling a vital gap in oceanographic 

 planning. It would undoubtedly also generate the expenditure by the State 

 agencies of similar sums in this important endeavor. 



Therefore, Mr. Chairman, we hope that your committee can give this worthy 

 proposal your serious consideration and then find it possible to chrow its full 

 weight of influence behind it in order to get a positive program going. In clos- 

 ing, let me state again that we consider H.R. 4276 to be a highly .significant 

 measure, and urge your favorable consideration of it, with such modification, if 

 any, that you may deem necessary to assure that the possible program weak- 

 nesses under its provision are reduced to a minimum. 



Thank you for the opportunity to submit these views. 



(Supplement to statement of Richard H. Stroud, Sport Fishing 

 Institute, on H.R. 4276 :) 



Statement of Robert M. Paul, Executive Secretary, Sport Fishing Institute, 

 ON H.R. 10412, AND H.R. 9361 



Mr. Chairman, I am Robert M. Paul, executive secretary of the Sport Fishing 

 Institute, located in Washington, D.C. I am appearing before your committee 

 on behalf of Sport Fishing Institute in order to join other witnesses in urging 

 the early creation of an adequate national oceanographic research program. In 

 addition, we would like to discuss briefly the implications of an expanded ocean 

 research program for sport fishing and the need to emphasize the biological 

 phases of the program, particularly as they relate to inshore and estuary areas. 



The Sport Fishing Institute strongly supports the efforts to strengthen oceanog- 

 raphic research represented by the bills under consideration. H.R. 10412 to 

 formalize coordination among the various Federal agencies concerned with 

 oceanography seems to be the logical first step particularly when it is combined 

 with the establishment of the National Oceanographic Data Center proposed by 

 H.R. 12018. The major points of discussion, in our opinion, relate to specific 

 details of the broad oceanographic program proposed in H.R. 9361. 



The witnesses that you have invited to appear before your committee, the 

 establishment of your Subcommittee on Oceanography, the various reports you 

 have secured from committees of scientists, are all effective testimony to your 

 committee's awareness of the need for expanding the Nation's oceanographic 

 research program. We believe the need has been documented beyond question. 

 The problem now is to plan and initiate a program that will adequately meet 

 the national requirements. 



Much of the initial interest and action on this problem was due to reports on 

 oceanographic needs prepared by the Committee on Oceanography of the National 

 Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. As you know, their recom- 

 mendations have been largely incorporated onto H.R. 9361, which is one of the 

 bills under consideration. We believe that the NAS-NRC Committee did an 

 excellent job. The aggressive, thorough approach they took in attacking a most 

 complex national problem is commendable. 



A few months ago Dr. Harrison Brown, the chairman of the NAS-NRC Com- 

 mittee, asked the Sport Fishing Institute for comments on the completed chap- 

 ters of the report. The Institute's comments were transmitted to Dr. Brown in 

 a letter by our execuive vice president, Richard H. Stroud. Those observations 

 form the basis for discussing the bills under consideration. Dr. Brown asked 



