NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 411 



The Russian merchant marine is alive and vigorously growing; our merchant 

 marine is noted as our sickest industry. 



Prior to World War II Russia scarcely fished upon the ocean out of sight 

 of its own land, now its vessels customarily fish throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, 

 Indian, Antarctic, and Arctic Oceans. It is third in rank in the production 

 of fish in the world (not counting mainland China whose statistics are suspect), 

 having long ago surpassed the United States which was until recently the No. 2 

 fish producer in the world. As a matter of fact in 1964 the United States fell 

 back a little in fish production, and Russia produced more than twice as much 

 fish from the world ocean as did the United States. Russian fishing fleets are 

 modern and increasing in modernity, number, and scope of operation rapidly. 

 U.S. fish production and fishing vessels have been approximately static since 

 the war. Russia has fleets of better vessels fishing off New England, Alaska, 

 and the west coast of the United States than has the United States, and the 

 disparity of fishing competence of£ our own coast is increasing rather than 

 shrinking. 



Recent oflScial visitors fi*om the United States to Russia have reported in a 

 rather patronizing manner on the greater support given ocean research in the 

 United States, the better laboratories and equipment we have for ocean reseai-ch, 

 and the better our whole oceanographic apparatus and knowledge of the ocean is. 



I have not been to Russia and I cannot testify to these things. I do keep 

 reasonably well abreast of the published literature and I do travel around the 

 world a good deal. In the ocean research literature I find no convincing proof 

 that we are leading the Russians in oceanography ; in ports all over the world 

 I see convincing proof that they are licking the britches off of us in the applica- 

 tion of science and technology to the use of the ocean. 



Where the Russians are outshining us brilliantly is in the rapid application of 

 what they learn about the ocean and its resources. I will confine my observations 

 to the fishery field where I am experienced. 



Their pattern in this field is clear. Their oceanographic vessels reconnoiter 

 an area of ocean as a strictly research effort as do our research vessels. They 

 are followed the next year, or soon thereafter, by the research vessels of VNIRO, 

 the fishery department of the state planning committee of the U.S.S.R. These 

 vessels do quite competent hydrography of a more detailed nature and at the 

 same time are equipped to do exploratory fishing at least sufl5ciently to find out 

 what their echo sounders are seeing. 



Next come the commercial fishing vessels to explore on a commercial basis. 

 They are also equipped with scientists, and if there is a sizable group of these 

 vessels they are accompanied by a fishery research vessel which aids them as a 

 group to follow the thickest congregations of fish. As the fishery develops and 

 puts strains upon the populations being fished, the population dynamicists are 

 brought into the picture so that overfishing can be detected and prevented. If 

 there is an international fisheries commission in the area being fished that they 

 can join, the Russians join it and wholeheartedly participate in its work. 



Back home in Russia the marine architects continue to develop new models of 

 vessels to more effectively fish the areas of new interest, whether they lie in high 

 latitude or are equatorial. The new vessels that are coming along steadily inta 

 the fleet are changing shape in accordance with the new designs and experience. 

 Unlike the case of the United States, new fishing vessels and equipment are 

 bought outside the country continuously wherever the best vessels can be had 

 at the best price, whether in Germany, Denmark, England, France, the Nether- 

 lands, or Japan. The same sort of development and applications are going on 

 with their gear research and the technology and engineering of fish preservation 

 and processing both ashore and afloat. Great emphasis is given to the auto- 

 mation of all operations at sea and ashore concerned with the catching, dressing, 

 preservation, processing and transportation of fish and fish products. We talk 

 about automating at sea ; the Russians do it. 



Over the whole operation, as well as its separate parts, trained economists and 

 analysts continually work and rework the resulting data and apply their findings 

 to the most effective patterns of fleet deployment with season, fish availability, 

 weather, market conditions, etc., and to the matters of logistic support of far- 

 flung fleets. 



The industrial managers of large fleets of large vessels covering large discrete 

 areas of the world ocean are the headmen imder the chairman of the fishedy de- 

 partment of the state planning commission. To them the scientists, technologists, 

 engineers, economists, and designers bring their skills for the solution of opera- 

 tional problems. 



