SEA GRANT COLLEGES 107 



of developing marine technologies to extract these natural resources from the 

 oceans, we need them least. There is room for improvement in our fisheries 

 industry, but in general, we have a surplus of food. Extraction of minerals from 

 the oceans will also find a fairly stubborn competition from alternative sources 

 of supply available to us. Therefore, although in the long run marine technolo- 

 gies will be essential, perhaps vital, to meet our needs as a nation, in the short 

 run the picture is much more blurred. If we relay on domestic needs of our 

 economy alone, the development of our oceanographic knowledge and marine 

 technologies is not likely to be as rapid as many of us wish. 



On the other hand, our social needs are not limited to the domestic eco- 

 nomic needs as such- -they include the requirements of our foreign policy and of 

 our military establishment. We are committed to spend about three billion 

 dollars annually in foreign aid. Oceanic R&D, designed to meet the needs of the 

 underdeveloped or deficient countries, may significantly cut our foreign aid bill 

 without decreasing its effectiveness. In later years, as our population grows 

 and our own resources diminish, we would be able to utilize these technologies 

 with full advantage for our own economy. In a somewhat similar vein, our 

 civilian oceanic R&D can proceed much farther and much faster if the interests 

 of the U. S. Navy are considered and Naval cooperation is obtained. The mining 

 of the ocean bottom can provide our submarines with stations and sources of 

 supply. Non-military U. S. presence in the oceans can provide the Navy with 

 navigational assistance, information, and denial of footholds to the potential 

 enemy. In sum, an effective and rapid exploitation of the potential of the oceans 

 can be brought about if we view the problem not only from the point of view of 

 the domestic needs of our economy at this time, but if we integrate the present 

 and future needs of our economy with the needs of our foreign policy and defense. 



In our sea-grant universities, we should not only do research and provide 

 educational facilities in marine sciences. We should provide research to deter- 

 mine what our social needs are in each given period of time and how marine 

 sciences and technologies can satisfy those needs. We need social scientists 

 who understand the implications of oceanography and marine sciences for soci- 

 ety as a whole. Conversely, we need oceanographers with a keen appreciation 

 of social requirements so that they can direct their research towards goals 

 most needed by society. 



DAVID DEAN, Department of Zoology and Entomology, The University of Con- 

 necticut 



Certainly no one would question the objectives of scholarship, research, 

 training and dissemination of information proposed in the sea-grant university 

 concept or the benefit our country would reap from the program. However, I 

 question whether it is wise to designate specific institutions as sea- grant uni- 

 versities. Such a labeling might be detrimental to the objectives of the concept 

 in the following ways: (1) In obtaining support in the legislature. While it is 

 incongruous to designate institutions from inland states as sea-grant univer- 

 sities, it is quite conceivable that these same institutions could make significant 

 contributions to the marine sciences. Greater support could be rallied if the 

 inland states were not excluded by the use of a label. (2) Stigmas have been 

 associated with land-grant universities in the past. I'm afraid that similar stig- 

 mas, as unwarranted and unfortunate as they maybe, will carry over to the sea- 

 grant university. 



While a sea- grant university will focus attention on marine science and 

 oceanology, there are other equally effective ways to focus attention on these 

 areas. I suggest that the sea- grant university label be abolished but that the 



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