99 



their respective research budgets go for instru- 

 mentation procurement. In FY 1967, a substantial 

 portion of these fimds will be used for improving 

 existing equipment. 



8. Ship Operating Costs — The cost of operating 

 research vessels remains a major expense in the 

 program. Approximateh 25 percent of the re- 

 search budget \\ill support ship operations. The 

 National Science Foimdation, Office of Naval 

 Research, and the Bin eati of Commercial Fisheries 

 are the major agencies which fimd ship operations 

 from their research budgets. 



9. International Cooperation — Although U.S. sci- 

 entists continue to cooperate with oceanographers 

 of other nations, obligations for support of formal 

 international oceanographic programs are down 

 sharply from pre\ious years. This reflects the 

 termination of the International Indian Ocean 

 Expedition (IIOE). During FY 1967, data collected 

 over the past five \ears will be processed. Elucida- 

 tion of theory from data analvsis will continue. 

 Charts, atlases, and other materials will be pro- 

 duced. 



Through their participation in the International 

 Biological Program (IBP) of the International 

 Cooperative Year (ICY), marine biologists from 

 the United States will continue to work with those 

 from other nations in FY 1967. The objective of 

 the IBP in biological oceanography is to advance 

 our knowledge and imderstanding of the pro- 

 cesses that control the distribution and develop- 

 ment of marine populations and communities. 



Dining FY 1967, ICO, working through its 

 Panel on International Programs (PIPICO), will 

 continue to participate in the activities of the 

 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission 

 (IOC) of UNESCO. The Commission sponsors 

 international programs for stiidv of the ocean; 

 e.g., IIOE was the first formal program spon- 

 sored by IOC. PIPICO's recent recommendation 

 for full U.S. membership in the International 

 Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES), when 

 ratified, will make ICO the logical center of U.S. 

 activity in this oldest international cooperative 

 body engaged in ocean exploration. In conjunction 

 with the work of PIPICO, the Committee also 

 plans to extend the scope of its activities to in- 

 clude investigations into the law of the sea. 



10. Continental Shelf -On May 25, 1964, the 

 President of the United States proclaimed en- 



actment of a multilateral convention for the 

 exploitation of the continental shelf. The Con- 

 \ention on the Continental Shelf came into force 

 June 10, 1964, after ratification by the United 

 States and forty-five other countries. Under the 

 terms of the Convention, this nation's sovereign 

 rights to exploie the shelf and exploit its resources 

 were extended o\er at least 850,000 square miles 

 of ocean bottom — an area equivalent to approxi- 

 mately 25 percent of the continental United States. 

 The Convention defines the United States con- 

 tinental shelf as the seabed and subsoil of the 

 submarine areas adjacent to the continent and 

 island coastlines of the United States but outside 

 the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 

 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth 

 of the superjacent waters admits of the exploita- 

 tion of natural resources. Thus, not only are om 

 Federal rights on the seabed clearlv defined to 

 the 200-meter limit, but implicit in the treaty is 

 recognition that, with advances in our undersea 

 technologv, these rights could be extended into 

 deep ocean areas beyond the shelves. This treaty 

 has focused the ICO's attention on the shelf, and 

 its exploitation potential. 



The significance of the continental shelf is its 

 closeness. Modern technology, with very little 

 extension of the state-of-the-art, can overcome 

 the difliculties which have long prevented its 

 exploration and de\elopment. Indeed, advanced 

 deep ocean recovery techniques are now being 

 employed bv the U.S. petroleum industry that 

 will open new \istas in oil exploration beyond 

 200-meter depths. 



Since the shelf is an extension of the conti- 

 nental land masses, its geological featines are 

 similar in nature to those of its adjacent coast- 

 lines. Developing those areas where geological 

 processes have fortuitously concentrated min- 

 eral deposits may contribute to our gross national 

 product. But mineral deposits are only a ])art 

 of the wealth of the continental shelf Much 

 of our national fisheries activity is concentrated 

 on the shelf Shellfish are abimdant in the es- 

 tuaries and nearshore areas. Boitoni dwelling 

 species, which comprise a large percentage of 

 our total fish catch, are found within the geo- 

 graphic limits delineated by the 200-nieter depth 

 contour. By international convention we have 

 so\ereign rights for the exjjloitatioti of bottom 



