344 



The Eltanin program is primarily an oceanograpliic and atmo- 

 spheric vessel or platform which has been working in the Antarctic 

 waters for about 8 years and has gone approximately around half of 

 the Antarctic. The program is being performed on a systematic basis. 

 It determines the depth of the water, the geologic structure, physical 

 oceanography, studies the water column, birds, fish, plankton, and the 

 upper atmosphere. 



Mr. RuppE. Will the work of the Eltanin have any particular or 

 direct application as far as American commercial or industrial or 

 scientific endeavor is concerned or is it almost a pure research project? 



^iv. Beckmann. It is a pure research project at the present time and 

 even just figuring out the depth of water is pretty good because we 

 don't know how deep the water is any place around the Antarctic or 

 know little of the configniration at the bottom or any other features. 



There are many things that will be learned which will give us a first 

 crack at learning a little about the Antarctic. Major discoveries are 

 made in the Antarctic, such as the fact that the hills are really moun- 

 tains and are not piles of ice, has been made within the past 10 years. 



]Mr. RuppE. The work done in the Indian Ocean does seem a little 

 remote from our own shores or our own applications. Has similar 

 work been done on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in matters that 

 might offer opportunities for American fisheries and exploitation of 

 same ? 



Mr. Beckmann. Yes; there has been a lot of work done both by 

 Scripps on the west coast and by Woods Hole on the east coast in 

 addition to other research organizations. I mention those two because 

 they have been performing such programs for 25 or 30 years. 



In addition the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries does a lot of this 

 tj^pe of work. 



Mr. RuppE. I have some question of the value I suppose of the effort 

 expended in the Indian Ocean. It does seem that if the vessel were 

 still operative working there that the potential of the applications for 

 future commercial activity would be very limited. 



Mr. Beckmann. I don't think that is right because I think, the way 

 the fishing industry is today, any place you could find fish in quantity, 

 you would be willing to go to get them. 



You see the expedition of the Brvjun wasn't solely for comniercial 

 fisheries, but the study did ascertain the fisheries population in the 

 Indian Ocean. 



Mr. RuppE. Was a determination finally made as to the composition 

 of that fishery ? Was it carried to a conclusion ? 



Mr. Beckmann. Yes ; to the extent that one can learn in 2 years with 

 one boat. 



Mr. Rtjppe. Has the study resulted in any particular new applica- 

 tions or the utilization in any different way of that particular fishery ? 



Mr. Beckmann. There are several companies, Indian companies — a 

 lot of this work as done in conjunction with Indian scientists — that 

 are working in the Arabian Sea harvesting fish that they had not 

 previously harvested. 



You know that an answer to your question is that the problem has 

 more to do with other aspects of social, economic, and political factors 

 than it has to do with oceanography or fisheries. 



