SEA GRANT COLLEGES 249 



and research to back up their expanding world fisheries. Several years ago 

 the U.S.S'.R. had 137 separate institutions training fishery scientists and tech- 

 nical workers and conducting basic and applied research, and this number is 

 probably badly outdated. Japan is famous for the high level of fishery training 

 and research in its universities. 



If Japan and Russia are the most active nations in pursuing oceanographic 

 research for the benefit of their country, they are not the only ones. Peru has 

 become the leading fishing nation of the world by taking advantage of the rich 

 fish stocks off her coasts, and research has greatly aided the development of 

 these stocks. Such nations as Poland, West Germany, and Korea have expanded 

 their oceanic fisheries with strong support from applied research. 



Many vexing questions of the rights of competing nations to exploit the fisheries 

 of the high seas are yet unanswered, but it seems certain that those nations 

 which have established an active fishery will have high preference when a 

 decision is made as to who may fish particular offshore stocks. Whether the 

 United States needs to fish for these stocks at the present time or not, we will 

 certainly need them in the future, and we may find that prior claim has been 

 made to them by other nations more aggressive than ourselves in tliis area. 

 "Traditional rights." obtained through exploitation of stocks and research per- 

 formed on them, will be forcefully claimed. 



At the present time the universities cannot obtain adequate support for applied 

 research in oceanography. The program of the National Science Foundation 

 and of the other granting agencies either is specifically directed toward basic or 

 medically oriented research, or it involves individual short-term grants. A com- 

 pletely new a])proach is necessary, whereby agencies such as the Bureau of 

 Commercial Fisheries, whose activties are specifically directed to development of 

 the exploitation of the fish resources of the ocean, are provided the authority 

 and the money to support institutional grants. These grants should be made on 

 long-term bases, and be for the support of whole faculties and programs at selected 

 universities. 



For the past several years there has been a strong trend for Government 

 agencies to enter vigorously into oceanographic research. Since funds for the 

 support of this work have been limited, the trend has resulted in many cases in 

 the universities being replaced in this activity. It is vitally necessary that the 

 tempo of oceanographic research should be increased, but it must not take place 

 at the expense of university research or the whole structure will come crashing 

 to the ground. 



There is no other source of trained oceanographers except the universities, so it 

 is a basic necessity that the.v should be made as strong as possible, and be actively 

 encouraged to make their training as thorough and effective as possible. Surely 

 this is so obvious that it hardly requires to be stated, let alone belarbored. But 

 what does need explanation and urging is the concept that in order to be effective 

 in training oceanographers, the universities must be deeply engaged in research. 



It is sometimes forgotten that a university has a dual role instead of a single 

 one. In addition to the responsibility of training students, it must provide the 

 intellectual atmosphere and opportunity for the conduct of research. Histor- 

 ically, the university was the sole center of investigation and scholarly research, 

 and it was to the university campus that scholars and scientists gravitated to take 

 advantage of the collections of books and the presence of other men with whom 

 they could discuss their work. The function of research has been subordinated 

 in recent years in some universities, especially in this country, where some 

 teachers colleges and other institutions have lost sight of the .scholarly tradition 

 of universities in their haste to turn out students. The irony of this is that the 

 students are inevitably more poorly prepared for their role through not having 

 exposure to scholars immer.sed in research in their field, and consequently 

 abreast of the latest develojiments and philosoithies of their profession. 



In some areas of scholarship the universities are still the sole centers of re- 

 search, and if professors did not carry on scientific inquiries, none would be 

 done. In the field of marine science, and es))ecially of fisheries, this is not the 

 case ; if no university research were done in fisheries, the country would still be 

 served by Federal and State agencies. It is not fully clear to me why some areas 

 of research endeavor should ))e dominated by the universities and why other 

 should be pursued vigorously by Government agencies, but one of the reasons 

 relating to the marine sciences surely is tlie jireat cost of ni;iny pliases of this 

 kind of research. I'lii versifies h.-ive in many cases started tin's work, but have 

 eventually been faced with such staggering costs of boats and otlier necessities 



