NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPI-IIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 123 



of $200 million or over half the value of the present total U.S. catch. In 19G3 the 

 U.S. catch fi'om the same six North Pacific fishery resoui-ces was about 100 mil- 

 lion pounds valued at about $8 million. It is estimated that the potential annual 

 shrimp catch off Alaska exceeds 1 billion pounds (approximately five times the 

 l)resent gulf coast shrimp catch) ; the potential annual flounder catch is 1.5 

 billion pounds ; ocean perch, 300 million pounds ; cod and pollack, 140 million 

 pounds ; and sablefish, 100 million poxmds. In addition to these six stocks of 

 fish vphich the Japanese and Russians are now taking, there are estimated an- 

 nual potential catches of 1.2 billion pounds of herring, 700 million pounds for 

 hake, and 500 million pounds each for anchovy and sardines. 



Although these fishery stocks appear abundant when one looks at the total re- 

 source from California to the Bering Sea, there is evidence that certain species, 

 particularly in the Bering Sea, may be already threatened by excessive foreign 

 fishing. The eastern Bering Sea catch of flounder by Japan 10 years ago was 18 

 million pounds. The combined Japanese and Russian catch in the same areas 

 was about 1.2 billion pounds in 1961. The comparable catch figure for 1963 

 indicated a dramatic reduction. This sharp drop in catch was undoubtedly 

 due to a heavy depletion of the resource. It is clear that there has recently oc- 

 curred off the Alaska coast in the eastern Bering Sea one of the most rapid 

 expansions of ground fisheries in the world. 



Although the U.S. coastal fishery resource is perhaps the greatest in the 

 world, although certain stocks are being seriously damaged by foreign fishing, 

 and although the United States will soon, for the first time under international 

 law, have the right and obligation to conserve these coastal fishery resources, 

 the fact is that we have no active program to accomplish this. Under the Fishery 

 Convention, the United States will have the right to promulgate fishing con- 

 servation regulations on the high seas to conserve these coastal fishery resources, 

 but this will be possible only if the United States has the necessary information 

 about the resource to support the conservation measures undertaken. However, 

 we know little about our own coastal fishery resources. I fear foreign fishermen 

 known more about certain coastal fishei-y resources in Alaska than we do. Fur- 

 ther, the administration has advanced no program to implement the 1958 Fishery 

 Convention. 



In summary, for over 350 years the nations of the world have generally agreed 

 that the resources of the sea and the ocean floor were held in common and that 

 no single nation had an exclusive or even preferential right to exploit or con- 

 serve these resources. The 1958 Fishery and Continental Shelf Conventions 

 were dramatic departures from these traditionally held tenets. The final rati- 

 fication of the Continental Shelf Convention last fall and the anticipated final 

 ratification of the Fishery Convention this year signal international acceptance 

 of a new order and a new approach to the use of ocean resources. I am abso- 

 lutely convinced that the administration has missed entirely the significance of 

 these recent and important changes in international law. 



The seas are mankind's last frontier on this planet. For ages we have treated 

 the ocean waters as little more than hunting grounds for fishermen, and high- 

 ways for ships. Now we are awakening to see that beneath the surface of the 

 waters lies a vast territory every bit as challenging as outer space and infinitely 

 more promising with regard to economic reward. Man at last has the scientific 

 capability and technical mastery to meet the challenge, and his growing need for 

 food, water, minerals, power, and weather control gives him solid reasons for 

 doing so. I suggest we begin to occupy and use our recently acquired 1 million 

 square miles of Continental Shelf and that the U.S. Government assess our 

 extensive coastal fishery resources. We today know so little about this territory 

 and this environment that our initial efforts will be somewhat akin to the rewards 

 and failures of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. But the adventure beneath 

 the surface of the sea must begin. 



I mentioned earlier that the reason for the present discontent in Congress and 

 rash of legislative proposals is a failure on the part of the administration to 

 meet these problems and respond to these possibilities. The administration 

 insists on floundering in a "sea" of indecision with no national program for ocean 

 development. No less than 22 different agencies are involved in what is referred 

 to as the "oceanographic program." Each agency is required to appear before 

 a subcommittee of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to explain 

 its needs. In effect this means that everyone in the executive branch is to some 

 extent involved but no one really cares. The same is true with Congress, as far 

 as appropriations are concerned. The senior Government officials responsible 



