483 



The study of hypersensitivity reactions to marine organisms. 

 PhysiolOffieal effects of the marine environment on man. 

 The reUitionship of marine organisms to the Man-in-the-Sea Program. 

 Healtli asi>ects of ocean pollution. 

 Anatomy of the venom orj^ans of marine organisms. 



Physiological hazards relating to diving, such as : effects of pressure, inert 

 gases, increased oxygen tensions, etc. 



PUBLICATION OF RESULTS 



Tliere is a dearth of useful marine information that is available to botli the 

 scientific and lay public. Greater attention needs to be directed to the <iuality, 

 publication and public dissemination of scientific findings. Ade<iuate funding 

 should 'be provided for tlie publishing of investigative results in technical jour- 

 nals and well illustrated manuals, monographs, and books. Documentary educa- 

 tional films are needed for civilian and the Military. The production of these 

 films should be encouraged and funded. 



ECONOMIC RETURNS 



Benefits to be derived from biomedical research are both immediate and long- 

 term. Laboratory studies have sihown that there is a vast spectrum of marine 

 bioactive substances having antibiotic, antiviral, and fungicidal properties. There 

 is evidence that many of these substances will have immediate commercial poten- 

 tial. There is also a gi*eat variety of systematic drugs affecting the nervous sys- 

 tem, cardiovaseular, urinary, gastrointestinal, and various other organ systems. 

 Some of the greatest medical prol)lems facing mankind today are concerned 

 with the chronic degenerative diseases, cancer, heart disease, neurological dis- 

 oi'ders, mental health, arthritis, etc. Marine organisms provide an iintapi>ed 

 wealth of plants and animals that either istore or produce a fantastic array 

 of complex chemical substances, many of which offer exciting possibilities as 

 new therapeutic agents. 



World fisheries are beginning to expand rapidly into tropical seas, and greater 

 attention is being directed to shallow-water shore fisheries operations. There 

 is urgent need for a more effective utilization of the so-called "trash species" 

 in warm water areas. The utilization of a broader spectrum of tropical marine 

 organisms as food products has brought about an unprecedented confrontation 

 with an enormous array of poisonous marine organisms. Toxic marine organisms 

 range throughout the phylogenetic series of plants and animals. The toxicity of 

 some of these poisons are about 10,000 times that of sodium cyanide or about 

 3,000 times that of our better war gases. With the necessity of developing protein 

 concentrates from an ever increa«ing variety of marine organisms, it is urgent 

 and necessary that the edibility of all marine organisms be evaluated, particularly 

 if they are likely to be used in the production of protein concentrates. 



The prospects of using protein resources from the sea for human and animal 

 consumption are becoming increasingly more difficult as toxic industrial wastes 

 are being discharged into the marine environment. The devastating outbreaks of 

 Minamata disease in Japan document the serious threat that industrial wastes 

 contribute to the food economy of the sea. The Minamata situation points up the 

 fact that in the future we must be prepared to cope with toxic products from 

 both natural and industrial sources which become incorporated in the complex 

 food web of the sea. In the preparation of FPC we may also encounter a con- 

 centration effect of trace elements and other industrial chemical compounds that 

 could eventually result in serious disease pi-oblems. This is an area of research 

 that is going to require carefully controlled long-term chronic toxicity studies. 

 At the moment there is no evidence that any serious consideration is being given 

 this subject. 



Important economic by-products will also result from a national effort in bio- 

 medical oceanography in the area of education. New job opportunities will be 

 developed and new educational programs will be required. 



The untapped biochemical wealth of the sea offers some of our richest resources 

 with the promise of immediate returns as nutrients and useful therapeutic agents 

 which are likely to prove to be highly effective against some of mankind's most 

 devastating ills. Marine biotoxins play a dual role of being able to preserve life 

 as well as to destroy it. We must learn how to utilize these substances tar the 

 benefit of all mankind. 



