NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 117 



Tlie oceans are being recognized more and more as a source of wealth 

 and as a profitable field for industrial enterprise. 



Yesterday we were interested in oceanography primarily as a science 

 and our activity was centered in the several universities and private 

 institutions interested in studying the oceans. But today we are think- 

 ing more about man's working and living on the ocean floor, about the 

 engineering and technological problems related to harvesting the re- 

 sources of the seas. 



I will make no elaborate attempt here to outline for the committee 

 the many and varied ocean resources that are today within our reach. 



In its natural state, acre per acre, the sea is producing about as much 

 as the land, yet man is only taking about 1 percent of his present food 

 requirements from the salt water environment. Wlien we begin to 

 farm the oceans we can expect them to produce much greater quanti- 

 ties of desirable food substances — just as farming on land has greatly 

 increased its productivity. 



However, at the present, the United States does not have a program 

 ■dedicated to the farming of the sea. 



With regard to efficient hunting and caioturing of the living re- 

 sources of the sea, new types of vessels are being developed far more 

 rapidly than they are being used. World fishery production is 

 doubling every 12 years, but world production could be further in- 

 creased if intelligent management of these resources were practiced. 



But this committee knows well that the United States is not engaged 

 in this exciting development. 



Looking beyond the resources to be found in the sea water itself, we 

 find in the Continental Shelf and ocean floor the ultimate repository 

 of minerals eroded from the continent. The ocean does a remarkable 

 job of segregating and concentrating many of the minerals which are 

 of substantial commercial value, including phosphorus, manganese, 

 nickel, iron, copper, and cobalt. 



In recent years vast discoveries of these minerals have been made 

 on the Continental Shelf and ocean floor. Although several American 

 industries have expressed interest in the development of these re- 

 sources, the United States today has no program to assist in this effort. 



One of the earliest and today certainly the most significant industry 

 operating on the Continental Shelf is the petroleum industry. This 

 industry, with but limited encouragement from our Government, has 

 made vast expenditures of money for the exploitation of oil and gas 

 reserves on the Continental Shelf. 



Approximately 5,000 wells have been drilled on the Outer Continen- 

 tal Shelf, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Some wells have been 

 drilled at a depth of almost 600 feet, and are located over 75 miles 

 offshore. This development has been particularly significant because 

 the Federal Government has directly benefited substantially from oil 

 leases, bonuses, and royalties. 



During the past 10 years the United States has received over $1.2 

 billion from Outer Continental Shelf mineral bonuses, $14 million in 

 rentals, and royalties estimated at $16 million a year. 



There appears to be complete agreement that further development 

 of the petroleum resources of the Continental Shelf could be substan- 

 tially expedited if the U.S. Government would undertake an acceler- 

 ated program to study the Continental Shelf and ocean environment. 



