738 
Federal Government. I would like to point out, however, that I think 
that there is only one common element to the oceans, and that is the 
salt water, and that this common element relates to as wide a range 
of uses as appear on land. 
To have a separate agency for the ocean may in a sense be like having 
a separate agency for land with all the manifold varieties of resources 
and uses that operate within the land environment. 
Thus, I think that there is always going to be great diversity of inter- 
est in the oceans and that it will always be quite difficult to coordinate 
these interests. 
T agree that there is need for greater coordination. I am just not sure 
whether we should be entirely sanguine that we can achieve it by means 
of reorganization of the Government. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
Mr. Lennon. Thank you, Dr. Christy, for certainly an interesting, 
and, I believe, a really informative discussion of a very vital area that 
we should consider and must consider, the rehabilitation of the U.S. 
domestic fisheries. 
I would like to ask unanimous consent that Dr. Christy’s biograph- 
ical résumé be inserted in the record immediately preceding his state- 
ment to the committee. We have already obtained unanimous consent 
that his full statement will be inserted in the record following his 
summary of the same. 
(The full statement follows :) 
STATEMENT OF FRANCIS T. CHRISTY, JR., RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE, INC. 
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I appreciate the invitation to 
participate in these hearings on the Report of the Commission on Marine Science, 
Engineering and Resources. My name is Francis T. Christy, Jr. lam a Research 
Associate at Resources for the Future, Inc., which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 
organization that undertakes and sponsors social science research on problems 
and issues of natural resource development and conservation.* 
My comments on the excellent Report of the Commission on Marine Science, 
Engineering and Resources are restricted, at this time, to one specific subject— 
the rehabilitation of U.S. domestic fisheries. I make this restriction because of 
(a) the difficulty of providing detailed commentary on a document that is so: 
comprehensive and thorough; (b) the expectation that the development of “a 
plan for national action” will take several years and provide future opportunities 
for comments; (c) the importance of fisheries; and (d) the fact that the condi- 
tions necessary for economic efficiency in fisheries are also necessary for economic 
efficiency in the development of other marine resources. In commenting on the 
Report, I hope to add emphasis to its recommendations on fisheries management 
and to suggest a possible means for facilitating the adoption of these recom- 
mendations. The three recommendations to which I refer are as follows: 
The Commission recommends that fisheries management have as a major ob- 
jective production of the largest net economic return consistent with the biological 
capabilities of the exploited stocks. (Report, p. 92). 
The Commission recommends that voluntary steps be taken—and, if necessary, 
Government action—to reduce excess fishing effort in order to make it possible 
for fishermen to improve their net economic return and thereby to rehabilitate 
the harvesting segment of the U.S. fishing industry. (Report, p. 93). 
The Commission recommends that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Agency (BCF) be given statutory authority to assume regulatory jurisdiction of 
endangered fisheries when it can be demonstrated that: 
A particular stock of marine or anadromous fish migrates between the waters 
of one State and those of another, or between territorial waters and the con- 
tiguous zone or high seas, and 
The catch enters into interstate or international commerce, and 
1A brief biography is attached. The views expressed in this statement do not necessarily 
represent the views of Resources for the Future, Inc. 
