e that regulation can call on research to illuminate the dark corners of 
its field of work; 
e that resource management is made more efficient and productive by 
making sure the technical standards of regulation, and the practicalities 
of enforcement, are consistent with the real world; 
® that the potentialities of the future and the difficulties of the present 
are worked at by an associated research arm; and 
e that research can find its balance in the operation of its sister divisions. 
The reason we suggest an integrated tripartite arrangement of resource 
management, regulation, and research is that none can survive and work 
healthily without contact with the other two, and none could work in the 
full public interest were any of them subordinated to the others. 
Tying these three functions together for balance of effort and harmony 
of purpose in the light of overall national policy is itself a fourth function 
and there must, of course, be a higher level in the management hierarchy 
to carry it out. 
It is not a function that can generally be left to an interagency coordinat- 
ing committee. The bulk of the federally managed civil marine affairs 
activity must be collected into a single operating unit with management 
authority. There will, of course, always be some marine responsibilities 
that for one reason or other remain outside such an authority. The 
Department of Defense, State Department, National Science Foundation, 
and Environmental Protection Agency are important players in the oceans 
game and should obviously remain independent, implying the need for 
continuing to bring the White House and interagency coordination into 
the management process. But we would hope that the “critical mass” of 
marine programs would be included in the central management body that 
we urge be established. 
Events challenging the Nation’s marine affairs strategy and management 
are accelerating. We feel that our response cannot wait for the revival and 
appropriate revision of the DENR Bill nor for resolving the complications 
in establishing an independent agency, though NACOA would welcome 
this solution, too, in principle. Accordingly, we urge that the functions 
discussed above, and the means to carry them out, be brought together 
within an existing Department or Agency in an organizational setting that 
enhances their marine orientation and opportunity for mutual reinforce- 
ment and collective strength. 
19 
