38 MARINE SCIENCE 



I am a member of the Committee on Oceanography and the Com- 

 mittee on Atomic Radiation. 



Having been engaged for many years in various aspects of ocean- 

 ographic research, and having also the privilege of close acquaintance 

 with international aspects of the use of the sea, I have been especially 

 impressed with the comparative smallness and inadequacy of the 

 efforts which are being made by the United States to take advantage 

 of the wealth of the oceans, and to solve the oceanographic problems 

 which, as a maritime nation, we cannot afford to ignore. 



In a very real sense — as the chairman noted in his statement yester- 

 day — the United States is essentially an island nation. As such, in 

 a world the terrestrial parts of which are becoming every day more 

 populated, it is extremely important that we take full advantage of 

 the seas which nearly surround us, not only for our military security, 

 but also for our continuing economic and social well-being. This 

 requires that we stay in the forefront in the gathering and applica- 

 tion of new knowledge of the ocean and its contents through a con- 

 tinuing program of ocean research of adequate scope and magnitude. 



One aspect of such a program which I would like to mention at 

 this time is the study of the resources of the sea which support the 

 fisheries and other extractive industries. The ocean contains living 

 resources, of great value as a source of food and of raw materials for 

 agriculture and industry, the utilization of which is, unfortunately, 

 expanding much more rapidly by some other nations than ours. 

 Although the living resources, which support the fisheries, are the 

 most important of the extractive resources of the sea, there are also 

 important unutilized mineral resources, the extent of which we are 

 only beginning to recognize. 



It may be noted that the United States is still the second, or perhaps 

 third, most important nation of the world with respect to the size 

 of its sea-fish harvest. However, the fisheries of other nations are, 

 and have for some years been, growing faster than our own, and a 

 rapidly increasing share of the fish we eat is imported from other 

 nations, although these fish were mostly caught on the high seas. 

 Many nations are turning to the sea fisheries as a source of new wealth, 

 and the competition for the use of these resources is looming more 

 important each year. 



I have just returned from Geneva where the Second International 

 Conference on the Law of the Sea is wrestling with the problems of 

 the extent of the territorial sea and exclusive fishing zones, and I can 

 assure you that the sharing of the harvest of the sea fisheries is a 

 matter of great concern to the vast majority of the 88 nations in 

 attendance. 



The Chairman. Dr. Schaefer, I don't want to burden this hearing 

 with what went on at Geneva, though I do want to talk to you about 

 it a little later. It is very important, as you know. 



I am having lunch with Canadian members of Parliament today so 

 I will have some discussion there, too. 



During the last few years at this conference and other international 

 assemblies there has become evident a tendency to give prior or ex- 

 clusive rights in the near-shore fisheries to the adjacent coastal States. 

 Thus the distant water fishermen of the United States and its allies 

 must look forward to having to rely increasingly on the resources of 

 the high seas, far offshore. 



