OCEANOGRAPHY 1961 — PHASE 3 365 



"Whereas the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have each created 

 a special committee to study oceanographic problems and recommend nevi^ leg- 

 islation and programs to implement the National Academy of Sciences-National 

 Research Council reports, and 



"Whereas a careful study of these reports and publications indicated that the 

 biological aspects of the proposed program are subordinated to other disciplines : 

 Now, therefore, be it 



"Resolved, That the society (1) commends the administration and the Con- 

 gress for the interest they have expressed in expanding the national effort in 

 oceanographic research; (2) expresses its concern that the vitally important 

 biological aspects of the oceanographic research program be given more ade- 

 quate recognition in the development and implementation of plans ♦ ♦ ♦." 



This rather obvious neglect of the biological aspects of oceanography has been 

 noted by other groups. For instance, the Department of Interior's Advisory 

 Committee on Fish and Wildlife made the follovring recommendation to the 

 Secretary of Interior on October 20, 1959 : 



"The 10-year oceanographic research program of the National Academy of 

 Sciences is a vitally important undertaking which the committee supports. The 

 committee is hopeful that greater emphasis will be given to the basic biological 

 aspects, especially of the fishes. A preponderance of effort is now proposed on 

 physical oceanography. We believe that added emphasis on biological research 

 would strengthen the program and greatly increase its overall value." 



To sum up our views, we question whether the proposed national oceanographic 

 research program adequately meets the accepted Federal responsibility for basic 

 research. We appreciate that the long-range national security benefits are im- 

 plicit in efforts to increase food supplies — but this is not the entire problem. 

 There should certainly be a more equitable balance between the biological and 

 physical aspects of the program to enhance what are perhaps equally important 

 long- and short-range social and economic benefits to our Nation realizable from 

 sport fishing. There should also be a better balance between Inshore and estuary 

 research and the deep-sea research that has been most emphasized in previous 

 testimony. 



Obviously, we are concerned more witli the details rather than with the basic 

 structure of the report. This is because the implementing recommendations 

 made thus far for detailed ocean resource studies that would follow seem to us 

 to be somewhat more narrowly conceived and shortsighted than desirable for 

 the overall public interest. Basic research is accorded secondary importance 

 when it should be primary. There is an obvious lack of balance, not only in the 

 overall report as between physical and biological research, but in the section on 

 ocean resources as between basic biology and trade-oriented developmental re- 

 search as well. There is an evident lack of appreciation for the underlying long- 

 range importance of detailed life history and ecology studies, behavior in nature, 

 and population dynamics of marine organisms, especially fishes. 



We are concerned, too, as you might expect, over the overt restriction of re- 

 search attention to "commercial" or "food" fishes. This indicates inadequate ap- 

 preciation of the vast social and economic significance of marine fishery resources 

 and the sport fishing industry. For example, in 1955, a detailed study of the 

 State's marine sport fishery was made by the New Jersey Department of Conser- 

 vation and Economic Development. It was discovered that 27 marine species were 

 exploited jointly by sport and commercial fishermen. Of the total catch, 44 per- 

 cent were harvested by sport fishermen. The five most important si)ecies to both 

 groups were the same. This relationship is not much different in other areas 

 of the country. 



Economically, the marine sport fisheries are already at least one-half as 

 valuable in terms of retail business generated as marine commercial products 

 at retail level. All told, about 5.4 million Americans seek needed relaxation by 

 going fishing in the ocean. Marine fish provide a total of some 70 million recrea- 

 tional days annually, a rapidly growing figure. 



Last year, Congress officially recognized the importance of salt water sport 

 fishing for the first time. The bill directing the Secretary of the Interior to initi- 

 ate a salt water sport fish research program was introduced by a member of this 

 very committee. The hearings held by your committee on Mr. Lennon's bill 

 clearly showed that salt water sport fishing is an important and growing segment 

 of the Nation's business and recreation. The number of salt water anglers is 

 growing at a rapid rate. To ignore the importance of sport fishing in the devel- 



