56 



The fact that you raise the question is reason for me now to return 

 and ask questions myself as to whether this might warrant attention 

 by our Council. 



Mr. Drewrt. You used the term "gee whiz" a while ago and the fact 

 that we have the technology to blast a chamiel between two continents 

 is something we say "gee whiz" about, but when we start messing 

 around with nature, we don't know what is liable to happen. 



We dug some channels to get into the Great Lakes and have been 

 plagued to the tune of many millions of dollars to try to bring back 

 the lake trout because of the depredations of the sea lamprey. Now 

 we have the alewife problem there. I hope this is something that you 

 might look into. 



I have just one other short thing that is of interest to me and to the 

 committee, and that springs from the reference in the Vice President's 

 letter in which he comments on the fact that more than 90 percent 

 by value of our intercontinental commerce travels by ship. Of course, 

 I suppose by volume it would be 99 percent. 



You also mentioned in your statement, I believe on page 2, the 

 numbers of new research vessels which have been developed. Do you 

 have any observations to make on the potentials of the use of our 

 operating merchant marine which crisscrosses the world on regular 

 schedules and trade routes as "ships of opportunity?" Have you con- 

 sidered the use that could be made of that fleet in the collection of 

 marine environmental data on a worldwide and even a synoptic basis, 

 if you wanted it that way ? 



It has been tried a little bit, but the thought has been expressed that 

 if the possibilities are worth it, why not embody into each new ship 

 that comes along such sensors or other probe systems as might be ef- 

 fective in this type of data collection. 



Do you have any comment on the so-called "ship of opportunity" ? 



Dr. Wenk. I think it has been largely the interest of this commit- 

 tee that has caused the Government in many different agencies to look 

 at this question. 



This, as I recall, dates back to hearings that you convened several 

 years ago. Even before that, as I recall, some interest was stimulated 

 in having the SS Java Mail of the American Mail Line carry out a 

 complete set of experiments, showing the value and economy derived 

 from this technique. 



So far as I know, the major interest of the Government in this tech- 

 nique lies in the Navy itself. Most of the naval vessels in carrying out 

 whatever explicit missions they have, carry with them equipment in 

 the form of expendable bathy thermographs which permit them to col- 

 lect data while they are en route from one place to another. 



Some 100 to 200 ships are doing this regularly. The data are being 

 collected and collated. Some data in the Pacific, I believe, is being 

 made available to the fishing fieet. 



The Smithsonian at the present time is planning a program that 

 possibljr would involve equipping 12 ships with some equipment for 

 the Pacific run. This is simply one of the areas that just has not gotten 

 all of the attention and support that it might warrant and again with 

 the question you have raised, I think we should go back and take a look 

 at this. 



Mr. Drewry. I raised the question with this thought: That you 

 talk about looking into survey requirements, and I believe you said 



