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the numbers of technologists who are capable of doing this work are 

 exceedingly limited, Dr. Wallen, the head of the Office of Oceanog- 

 raphy and Limnology, and directly in charge of the sorting center, 

 and his colleague, Dr. Aron, have instituted a technician training 

 program. 



One of the fortunate byproducts of this program is that when the 

 technicians are trained, recognizing that the salary base in the Smith- 

 sonian Institution for technicians leaves something to be desired, they 

 are encouraged to disperse and join other organizations, both univer- 

 sities and museums. Thus, through the sorting center, the Smithsonian 

 Institution is facilitating the training and the relocation of technicians 

 who in turn will replicate and provide at least part of the base tech- 

 nical support we need if we are really going to go forward with our 

 national oceanographic program. 



I believe the record will show that some 45 technicians out of a 

 total of 80 have joined other organizations after having been trained 

 in the Smithsonian Institution. 



Another interesting facet concerns the Smithsonian Navy, the ship 

 we call the Phykos, our one and only oceanographic research vessel, 

 which some of my colleagues facetiously kid me about, by saying that 

 they believe she spent more time at the Washington Navy Yard than 

 at sea, and I suppose there is something to be said for that by virtue 

 of our limited resources. 



However, the Phyhos is presently engaged in what we consider to 

 be a unique educational experiment. The Smithsonian Institution has 

 entered into an agreement with the Southern Maine Vocational Tech- 

 nical Institute that will enable the institute to make use of the Phyhos 

 for the training of some of their technicians. Their training program 

 will occur in the fall and in the spring and, in return for that, these 

 technicians will participate with our scientists in actual research ex- 

 peditions for the gathering of information and the collection of specie 

 mens. So they will be getting field training and the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution will be gaining the benefits of having a crew of trained oceano- 

 graphic technicians available to its faculty. 



Another development concerns the establishment of a satellite sort- 

 ing center in Salammbo, Tunisia. Recognizing that in spite of our best 

 efforts the need for identification is outstripping our capability of 

 providing for this need, especially in dealing with certain groups of 

 organisms located in various regions of the world where we do not 

 have the expertise, the Smithsonian Institution has entered into an 

 agreement with the National Oceanographic Institute in Tunisia for 

 the establishment of an auxiliary sorting center for the Mediterranean 

 area, and although the center has been in existence for something less 

 than 1 year, the flow of marine material is becoming more and more 

 facile. 



We are entering into a number of subagreements with scientists 

 throughout the Mediterranean area to participate in the identification 

 of materials and I hope in this way the flow of taxonomic and ecologi- 

 cal information into the international oceanographic community will 

 be greatly facilitated. 



Perhaps one of the most exciting opportunities confronting the 

 Smithsonian Institution concerns itself with the research ships of 



