economy. The U.S. is concerned, too, over the 

 plight of less fortunate nations. Todaw more than 

 t\so-thirds of the people of the world suffer from 

 protein-deficiency diseases — a problem that could 

 be alleviated throusrh a wider distribution of food 

 from the sea. However, as we take more fish 

 from the sea, we must learn more abotit their 

 distribution, abundance, and behavior, so that the 

 United States — in cooperation with other fishing 

 nations — can instu'e a maximtim sustainable yield 

 of these fisher\- resources for generations to come. 

 To meet these, and future challenges, the Federal 

 Government must strengthen oin- fishing industrv. 

 It is doing so by strongly supporting oceanograph- 

 ic and marketing research and encouraging the de- 

 velopment of new technolog)' to improve the effi- 

 ciency of our fishing methods and the processing 

 of food products from the sea. 



Minerals are being recovered from the ocean 

 in manv areas throughout the world. In the 

 United States, the principal offshore mineral 

 resources now being exploited are petroleum, 

 natural gas, magnesium and sulphin". Large in- 

 vestments by private industry are being made to 

 extend drilling into deeper waters of the Gulf 

 of Mexico and off the west coast. Geophysical 

 exploration has intensified off the Atlantic and 

 Pacific coasts, with Federal agencies contributing 

 data from prior surveys of these areas. The in- 

 centives for exploitation are so compelling and 

 competition so keen that private enterprise can 

 be expected to maintain leadership in the ex- 

 ploration for oil and sulphur. There are, however, 

 other potentiallv valuable marine minerals that 

 are presently unexploited by industry, because 

 (I) uncertainties and imperfections in Federal 

 and State laws and leasing procedures deter po- 

 tential undersea prospectors; (2) inadequate pre- 

 diction of weather and waves has been responsible 

 for inefficiency in operation, as well as serious 

 loss of life and eqtiipment to those who are 

 engaged in ofF-shore exploitation of resources; 

 and (3) the processing and recovery of these 

 minerals is not yet economicalh feasible. De- 

 tailed surveys and oceanographic research must 

 precede any future industrial exploitation. The 

 government's role in fostering this pioneering 

 eflFort. by providing information and making 

 Federal teclinolog)- available, can be considered 

 an essential investment toward that time when the 



scarcity of materials presently mined ashore will 

 focus this country's industrial development on 

 mineral sources in the ocean. The first areas to 

 be explored intensively will be our own continental 

 sheh'es. The potential of the shelves will be dis- 

 cussed later in this report. 



4. Resource Management — Domestic Waters 



The population of the United States will double 

 by the end of this century. As the nation grows 

 and prospers, urban population centers and pos- 

 sibly industrial complexes will expand along our 

 coasts and into our domestic waters. Competition 

 for marine resources that Americans hold in com- 

 mon will intensify: for fresh water, for waste 

 disposal areas, for recreation, and for seafood. 

 Research and engineering are needed to con- 

 serve these \altiable resources in the public in- 

 terest, and to assure their wise management at 

 the Federal, State, and local levels of go\ernment. 

 This effort reflects a grooving national concern 

 over man's adverse modification of his environ- 

 ment through pollution of the apparently un- 

 limited expanse of fresh air; of vast systems of 

 lakes, rivers, and streams; and of the ocean, 

 through runoff or direct disposal of industrial 

 wastes, sewage, and low-level radioactive materials. 

 Confronted with the long-term consequences of 

 this alteration of the marine en\ironment — the 

 potential threat to public health and the possible 

 degradation of a resomxe treasmed for its beauty 

 alone — Federal and State agencies ha\e embarked 

 upon a broad, coordinated effort to manage and 

 conserve the wealth of the marine environment. 



5. Protection of Life and Property 

 Maritime Safety 



Weather and climate on land are inextricably 

 linked to the sea. Droughts, floods, and blizzards, 

 thousands of miles from the sea, are generated 

 as part of a complex process related to meteoro- 

 logical conditions near the surface of the ocean. 

 With an increased imderstanding of large-scale 

 interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, 

 long-range weather forecasting can be improved, 

 resulting in benefits to everv citizen, from farmer 

 and industrialist, to office worker and school 

 child. 



