906 
Several years aro a relatively cx- 
fensive phosphatic recovery operation began 
onthe Pamlico River in Beaufort Gounty, 
North Carolina. Within the past year, a 
concentration of phasphate which may be the 
The effort to lease the 
marshlands which overlay part of this 
largest in the world was discovered near 
Savannah, Georpia. 
phosphate bed led to a public crisis and the 
lease was not pranted. This crisis re- 
emphaized the need for the Commission's 
Marine Use Profile and for model codes for 
resource management. 
The present value of the Region's 
mineral production is leas than $300 million 
No one, of courac, can estimate 
the potential production. There has been 
a close correlation between exploration and 
discoveries, Perhaps the prospectors have 
been looking only the right places, or per- 
haps the Region has vast mineral wealth 
that will not be found until someone looks 
for it. 
per year. 
The Marine Resources Program of the 
Coastal Piains Regional Commission can be 
the means of accomplishing two important 
national goals simultaneously: 
o Increasing the utilization of these 
resources and 
oo DeveJoping: the econamy of a lasscing 
resjou, 
of the Offshore Vech- 
nolosy Conference would serve our nation 
The members 
well by suggesting improvements in this 
program. Jn particular, how can the Com- 
mission find out whether diamonds Jic bur- 
ied in its backyard? fJow can the Gommis- 
sion encourage and assist private enterprise 
to explore for these potential resources? 
Acknowledgment 
The author, although accepting full 
responsibility for the views expressed, 
nevertheless owes a debt of gratitude te 
other members of the Commission staff who 
in numerous conferences have helped develop 
the information and philosophy presented 
here. In sucha case it is difficult to deter- 
mine clearly where any one person's thoughts 
begin and end. Thus much credit for this 
article is due to Mr. Charles W. Coss, 
Executive Director; Mr. F. L. Parnell, 
Assistant Director, Dr. E. Waltgn Jones, 
former North Carolina Field Director; and 
Mr. Joseph Gabbard, Program Officer. The 
author also acknowledges the assistance of the 
members of the Commission's Marine 
Resources Advisory Committee, particularly 
its Chairman, Mr. Clyde Eltzroth. 
