gagement should be primarily at the technical level with the full coopera- 

 tion of the involved government. Some of the harsher realities of oceanic 

 research and development will be more widely understood and there will 

 be improved ability to interpret the findings of others. This should go 

 far toward allaying suspicions of unilateral exploitation. Or, from a dif- 

 ferent point of view, this should give the developing nations a better tech- 

 nical base to protect themselves in economic negotiations. 



It happens that numerous U.S. programs exist at various levels of ac- 

 tivity which could be employed toward this end. Aside from the necessary 

 strengthening of the individual programs, the programs should operate 

 in a coordinated way with the ultimate purpose of developing a better 

 worldwide understanding of ocean technology and the value of a man- 

 agement approach to oceanic resources. 



/. A first and important step would be greatly strengthening the office, 

 in the Department of State, of the Coordinator of Ocean Affairs and 

 Special Assistant for Fisheries and Wildlife. This Office has been very 

 effective with its limited means in handling many fisheries problems, and 

 has been supportive of U.S. research prograrns around the world and in 

 species protection, particularly mammals. The success of this Office is 

 based on its expertise and the relationships it has established with its con- 

 stituent community in the United States. The problems, however, are too 

 varied and too numerous for the Office to handle within its present means. 

 It is this Office that has demonstrated the usefulness of joint research 

 in the international realm by arranging for cooperative fisheries research. 



2. Other governmental agencies have not been as effectively or imagina- 

 tively used. For example, the Agency for International Development has 

 almost entirely dropped its programs in the oceans due to budget pres- 

 sures. This lack of coordination seems difficult to understand at a time 

 when Law of the Sea problems involve so much intradepartmental effort 

 up to the Under Secretary's level at the Department of State. We recom- 

 mend a vigorous AID program in ocean science and technology. There 

 are a number of such efforts by the Department of Agriculture, with one 

 example being the USDA's Economic Research Service, set up to work 

 with AID for the purpose of enhancing international development in 

 areas related to agricultural matters. By analogy, a similar decision could 

 be reached to focus certain developmental activities in areas related to 

 marine matters by a cooperative Department of Commerce/AID program. 

 NACOA suggests this might be most logically assigned to the Sea Grant 

 Program within Commerce's NO A A. 



Thus, a new candidate for international programs is the United States 

 Sea Grant Program. By analogy with our Land Grant Program it offers 

 great promise. One of the great contributions of the liand Grant Program 

 to the common welfare has been that of American agricultural technology, 

 and the key element has been the educational contribution of our great 



