629 
some evidence indicating that although the major decisions are coor- 
dinated and centralized at the highest organizational level, there are 
conflicts, stresses, and overlap of jurisdiction at the lower level where 
policy-decisions are executed. Terese Sulikowski’s paper provides 
some insight into the complexity of the Soviet system, the bureaucratic 
infighting, the problems of coordinating activities, and the frequency 
of duplicating efforts.” It is important, however, to understand that 
despite the shortcomings of the bureaucracy, the Soviet Union made 
giant leaps ahead in ocean affairs. This occurred primarily because 
commitments were made at the highest party and government level 
to turn the Soviet Union into a maritime power second to none. 
Within the organizational structure for ocean activities, the Navy is 
dominant and has a strong influence on the maritime industries. 
Although administered separately, the merchant marine, the fishing 
fleet, and the oceanographic fleet are closely allied with the naval 
command in the Soviet Union and may be readily and directly 
militarized or mobilized under naval direction.® 
A NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 
Prior to the mid-1960’s numerous attempts by Government and 
nongovernment groups to review the status of U.S. marine activities 
and identify need for changes and recommendations for a national 
ocean program had been made, but no Government organization was 
specifically authorized to adopt and implement such recommendations. 
A renewed interest in the oceans during the Kennedy administration 
did not lead to reorganization, but it did result in steps to accelerate 
marine research by providing additional research vessels, laboratories, 
and trained manpower. The renewed interest soon led to determined 
inquiry by the Congress as to structural and conceptual weakness 
in the executive branch in the area of marine affairs, followed by 
legislation. The legislation, the Marine Resources and Engineering Act, 
was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, on June 17, 1966. The 
act expressed congressional conviction that the time had arrived for 
the country to give serious and systematic attention to our marine 
environment and to the potential resources of the oceans. The act 
also expressed a national determination to take the steps necessary 
to stimulate marine exploration, science, technology, and financial 
investment on a vastly augmented scale.* Two complementary bodies 
were established by the act: The National Council on Marine 
Resources and Engineering Development; and the Commission on 
Marine Science, Engineering and Resources. The Council, comprised 
of the heads of the major Federal departments and agencies with 
marine missions, was charged with the planning and coordination of 
current marine science programs and with advising and assisting the 
President. The act had limited the life of the Council to 5 years, 
and when it discontinued operations in April 1971, its functions were 
taken over by the Interagency Committee on Marine Science and 
Engineering (ICMSE). 
: See “Ocean Policymaking in the Soviet Union: Bureaucratic Interests and Interaction” p. 211 in this volume. 
Aen p. 5. 
®Our Nation and the Sea, A Plan for National Action, Report of the Commission on Marine 
Science, Engineering and Resources, Washington, D.C., January 1969, p. VI. 
