NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 67 
5. In some cases it is more desirable for agencies to monitor work done by 
one agency while concentrating their development efforts elsewhere. The de- 
velopment of large, multipurpose, telemetering buoys by the Office of Naval Re- 
search is recognized by the ICO as the Government’s primary buoy development 
effort. 
The progress in this single, large contract is reported at intervals to the mem- 
bers of a Guidance Committee, representing Government, academic institutions, 
and private industry. Such meetings insure that all pertinent information 
is incorporated into the design of a truly multipurpose buoy. 
When completed it will become the basic unit for the large synoptic buoy 
networks to monitor a great variety of parameters vital to the forecasting of 
sea conditions and long-range weather phenomena essential for national defense, 
commercial fisheries and other research and operational programs. 
6. Other buoy developments are proceeding for smal! or highly specialized ap- 
plications, such as the submerged stable instrument platform of the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey and the jointly sponsored Office of Naval Research-Bureau of 
Commercial Fisheries-Scripps Institution of Oceanography lightweight current 
and temperature recording buoys. 
This Panel has encouraged the concept of locating major Government ocean- 
ographie laboratories near academic institutions or as interagency complexes, 
whenever this is in the best interest of all concerned. Usually, there are many 
advantages: Academic stimulation, cooperative use of vessels, libraries, labora- 
tories, and other expensive facilities and equipment, participation in joint re- 
search activities, free exchange of scientists and technicians, ete. 
Oceanographic laboratories generally use and assist the facilities of other 
groups in their local areas. Visits and cooperative programs are encouraged 
between scientists from more distant laboratories, from educational institutions, 
industry, and also foreign countries. For example, the Bureau of Commercial 
Fisheries Biological Laboratory at San Diego has been working closely with 
the Naval Hlectronics Laboratory and a local company in an attempt to develop 
a-sonic fish locating and identifying device. 
The new BCE Laboratory. now under construction on the Scripps campus, 
will provide Laboratory and office space for the Geological Survey and the Inter- 
American Tropical Tuna Commission. 
Four bureaus in the Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Bureau of 
Mines, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and Bureau of Commercial 
Fisheries are planning the establishment of an Interior Oceanographic Center 
at Tiburon, Calif., which has the enthusiastic support of the local scientific com- 
munity. 
In January 1963, the Navy formally dedicated its Oceanographic Instrumenta- * 
tion Center, here in Washington. This facility, established with ICO support, is 
being studied as the prototype of a national center for testing, calibrating, and 
standardizing oceanographic instruments. 
FUTURE PLANS 
The major task before the Panel in the future will be to continue coordinated 
planning to define immediate and long-range needs for major oceanographic 
facilities and equipment and to accelerate the Government’s oceanographic in- 
strumentation and ocean engineering programs. 
The development of adequate test and valuation techniques is becoming in- 
creasingly important. Industry is now not only developing good instruments but 
also preparing programs on how to use them to excellent advantage. Not long 
ago we were making our own instruments; now, we buy them from industry 
and assist in their development. 
A large part of our effort in the immediate future will be the development 
of detailed test and evaluation procedures to aid the designers and manufacturers. 
This vital and necessary part of instrument development is expensive in both 
time and funds. The capability of industry has been well demonstrated. Funds 
.are required in amounts greater than previously realized, both for in-house liai- 
ee consumer evaluation, and for development and product engineering by 
industry. 
Ocean engineering is another important aspect of the Panel’s future work. 
A special working group is exploring the role and responsibility of Government 
in this area of oceanography. We are beginning to recognize the need—indeed, 
the necessity—for a greater capability by this Nation for operating in and ex- 
