XI 
The need for a policy statement to lay the foundation for enhancing 
cooperative efforts among Federal agencies stems from recognition that 
increasingly larger quantities of marine environmental data and sam- 
ples are being collected, and that special measures may be required to 
insure that these data and samples—and any derived information— 
become available to secondary users, that is, users other than those for 
whom the data and samples are originally acquired. Toward this end, 
the statement urges that agencies work actively to establish bilateral 
agreements with the Environmental Data Service of NOAA and the 
Smithsonian Institution, and that agency or departmental level marine 
environmental data, sample and information policies be adopted and 
promulgated to further the aims of the interagency policy statement. 
It is recognized that several agencies and offices have in being policy 
statements generally consistent “with that enclosed herewith, such as 
those of the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, the IDOE Office 
of NSF, and NOAA. Additionally, a few bilateral agreements exist or 
are being established, such as those between NOAA and a number of 
agencies, for example, NSF, EPA, and the Office of the Oceanographer 
of the Navy. Nevertheless, it appears that broader application of the 
principles of the policy statement is needed. Therefore, ICMSE sup- 
ports and encourages the measures recommended in the policy state- 
ment and solicits your assistance in achieving this acceptance within 
the Department of Commerce. 
Rosert M. Wuits, 
Chairman (Acting), Interagency Committee on 
Marine Science and Engineering. 
Enclosure. 
A STATEMENT OF INTERAGENCY Poticy FoR Marine Data AND 
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 
The Federal Government, through mission-oriented activities of 
many of its agencies and bureaus, and through a variety of research 
and operational contractors, collects or causes to be collected large 
quantities of marine environmental data and samples. In addition to 
the purposes for which these data and samples were originally collected, 
they constitute a valuable national resource, the proper management 
of which is the responsibility of the Federal Government. Secondary 
users of these data, samples, and resulting information include agen- 
cies of the Federal Government; elements of State and local govern- 
ments; industry; colleges and universities; regional environmental 
councils and commissions; the general public and international ac- 
tivities. To meet the requirements of these secondary users, both for 
the present and during the decades to come, it is essential that there 
be implemented a systematic procedure to assure that this resource 
is adequately indexed, documented, and cataloged in preparation for 
dissemination to the user community and is archived in such a manner 
that the data and samples are readily accessible to the users. Data 
and information that are acquired for a specific purpose but which are 
not then made available for dissemination to other users, for all prac- 
tical purposes do not exist; therefore, they should be made available 
as soon as possible after they are collected or derived. 
The Interagency Committee on Marine Science and Engineering 
(ICMSE), 
