SEA GRANT COLLEGES 211 



It is my belief, shared by the staff and faculty of Scripps Institutiom of 

 Oceanography that ocean technology is extremely well fostered and supported by 

 its close association with broad and inclusive ocean science. 



Regional technical experimentation in the ocean realm also has an 

 important place in testing and learning of specific regional opportu- 

 nities that are revealed in the broad picture. The regional experiment 

 attains special importance ^Y]len it is so alined. 



In summary, I wish to make two points : 



(1) In order for a local marine station (as a sort of "wet"' agricul- 

 tural and engineering experiment station) to be effective, it must be 

 adjunctive to a broad-scale ocean technology, paralleling, supporting, 

 and mutually drawing from an equally wide program of ocean science ; 

 and, 



(2) It must be closely associated with a first-rate university, with 

 departments in geophysics and in the basic sciences and engineering. 

 It will also avoid basic misidentification of needs if it maintains rap- 

 port with the humanities and economics departments of the university. 



Senator Pell. Our next witness is Dr. David Potter, of the General 

 Motors Corp., Sea Operations Division, Santa Barbara, Calif. And 

 I would like also to pass on to you Senator Murphy's greetings and 

 regrets that he can't be with us this morning. 



STATEMENT BY DR. DAVID S. POTTEE, HEAD OF SEA OPERATIONS 

 DEPARTMENT, GENERAL MOTORS DEFENSE RESEARCH LABORA- 

 TORIES, SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. 



Dr. Potter. Thank you. Senator Pell. My name is David S. Potter. 

 I am head of the Sea Operations Department, General Motors Defense 

 Research Laboratories, Santa Barbara, Calif. I am also a member of 

 the Governor's Commission on Ocean Resources of the State of Cali- 

 fornia. I would like to limit my comments to a few points which I 

 feel should be stressed and also to comments on the administrative 

 procedures outlined in S. 2139 which seem to be controversial. 



Many of us who have been concerned with the exploitation of our 

 ocean resources liave felt a sense of urgency which we have failed to 

 transmit to the lay public, and only partially transmitted to those in 

 Government. Probably this is because the case has not always been 

 well documented. As you are well aware, the loss by the United States 

 of a leading position in maritime transport happened many years ago 

 and is dated by some historians at about the time of the Civil War. 

 To change our relative position in this area will be a heroic under- 

 taking. This matter is not the reason for tlie urgency which I feel. 



On the other hand, the decline in our fishing industry relative to 

 world production is more recent and is as yet reversible. Tlie large- 

 scale extraction of nonliving resources from the sea (except petroleum) 

 is still some time in the future, but it is not so far away that this Nation 

 can afford the casualness toward it which we have displayed to date. 

 If we do not move now it is likely that the fishing industry will join 

 the shipping and shipbuilding industries as unsalvageable witliout 

 massive help or subsidy. If we do not move now, we may not have a 

 free choice in i)articipating in offshore mining in the future. 



My second general comment relates to the kind of education needed 

 for ocean exploitation. Some concern has been expressed by my 



