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was allowed to fade away during the Nixon administration did great 
damage to ocean affairs in the United States. National interest in 
the oceans declined rapidly after 1969, in spite of the fact that world- 
wide interests in the oceans reached new heights during the initial 
phases of the United Nations Law of the Sea preparatory conferences. 
The conferences again focused our attention on the world’s dwindling 
fisheries resources, the growing threat of marine pollution, the poten- 
tial wealth of the deep seabed, the implications of oil and gas develop- 
ments, and the possible interference with navigation following ac- 
ceptance of extension of coastal jurisdiction. 
In 1974 Congress took an organizational initiative to develop the 
Nation’s future ocean policy. On December 19, 1973, 70 Senators 
cosponsored a resolution authorizing a National Ocean Policy, Study. 
The resolution, Senate Resolution 222, passed the Senate in February 
1974. Recognizing that the Marine Resources and Engineering 
Development Act of 1966 was enacted to develop a comprehensive, 
long-range national ocean policy, the resolution indicated that the 
act has been neither fully implemented nor completely successful in 
achieving that goal. For this and other reasons related to the utilization 
of ocean resources, solutions to ocean-related problems dependent 
on developing ocean science and technology, resolution of conflicts 
of national and international jurisdiction over the oceans, and protec- 
tion of the quality of the marine environment, the Senate authorized 
the Committee on Commerce to make a full and complete study 
of national ocean policy. 
The purpose of the National Ocean Policy Study is: 
To determine the adequacy of current Federal programs related 
to the oceans and to recommend improvements in agency struc- 
ture and effectiveness to meet national needs and achieve ocean 
capabilities; 
To assess existing policies and laws affecting the oceans for 
the purpose of determining what changes might be necessary to 
assure a strong and internationally competitive ocean policy and 
program for the United States; 
To evaluate current and prospective capabilities in the oceans, 
and to evaluate if capabilities are consistent with the attainment 
of long-range national goals; 
To achieve policies geared toward full utilization, conservation, 
management and rehabilitation of living resources; 
To assess policies for mineral utilization; 
To encourage implementation of the Coastal Zone Management 
Act of 1972; 
To assess international legal ocean issues; and 
To establish a comprehensive national policy for the purpose 
of understanding and protecting the global ocean environment 
through education, exploration, research, and _ international 
cooperation. 
To date, the Senate National Ocean Policy Study has held hearings 
on coastal zone management, Outer Continental Shelf oil and natural 
gas developments, ocean pollution, and on the Law of the Sea. Six 
studies on coastal zone management and on Outer Continental Shelf 
oil and gas developments have been published by the National Ocean 
