14 



I believe we will see small submarines and underwater habitats 

 widely used for recreation in another 20 years. 



Rather than talk about all the fishing problems, let me mention 

 something about aquaculture. If we are to consider aquaculture 

 seriously, we must face up to some of its implications as to water and 

 shoreline use. There are those who believe the major problem facing 

 aquaculture is not learning how to grow seafood economically, but 

 overcoming the variety of local, State, and Federal laws and manage- 

 ment practices necessary to encourage such programs. For example, 

 developing a raft oyster industry in navigable waters may be a difficult 

 problem in some States. 



The growth of the offshore oil and gas industry is well known. 

 Tliere are now some 16,000 offshore wells in the United States alone. 

 Offshore production accounts for some 16 percent of the total produc- 

 tion today and is heading toward 33 percent. Industry investment in 

 offshore programs is about a billion dollars a year and still growing. 



Last but far from least, the coastal zone is used as a receptacle for 

 pollutants. If there is one common rallying cry around the country 

 today it is that we must do something more to stop pollution. Pollution 

 is more than a coastal zone problem, but I thmk our proposed coastal 

 zone authorities will aid in this effort. 



THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM OF THE COASTAL ZONE 



A major conclusion of our Commisison was that the primary 

 problem in the coastal zone was a management problem with all the 

 attendant problems that proper management implies. It is true that 

 the Federal, State, and local governments share the responsibility to 

 develop and manage the coastal zone. In reviewing the situation, we 

 concluded that effective management to date has been thwarted by the 

 variety of Government jurisdictions involved at all levels of Govern- 

 ment, the low priority afforded to marine matters by State govern- 

 ments, the diffusion of responsibility among State agencies and the 

 failure of State agencies to develop and implement long range plans. 



Having said all this about the problems in the States, I would also 

 add that until relatively recently, navigation — over which Federal 

 authority is preeminent — has tended to dominate other uses of tlic 

 coastal zone, and perhaps for this reason. States have been slow to 

 assume their responsibilities. 



The Federal role in the coastal zone has grown haphazardly. Closely 

 related functions are discharged by the Coast Guard, Army Corps of 

 Engineers, Department of Housing and Urban Development, a num- 

 ber of bureaus of the Department of Interior and several other Federal 

 agencies. 



The Federal Government has sponsored planning activities in certain 

 coastal areas through river basin commissions and Federal activity 

 is itself coordinated through the Water Resources Council and the 

 Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development. How- 

 ever, neither of these groups can be expected to be concerned with the 

 detailed management of particular coastal areas. 



If you believe, as did the Commission, that a more effective manage- 

 ment system is required, one of the first questions to be settled is the 

 level of Government at wliich it operates. Our second major conclusion 

 was that the management task was primarily a State responsibility 



