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STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM A. NIERENBERG, CHAIRMAN, NA- 

 TIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE, 

 DIRECTOR, SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY, LA JOLLA, 

 CALIF. 



Dr. NiERENBERG, Yes, sir. 



My remarks will be relatively brief. Before going into their sub- 

 stance, I will introduce them by calling your attention to a phenomenon 

 that has somehow escaped general public notice. Twenty years ago, 

 the total worldwide fisheries yielded something less than 20 million 

 tons per year. Some farsighted oceanographers such as Columbus 

 Iselin at Woods Hole or my distinguished predecessor, Roger Ravelle, 

 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, valiantly called attention 

 to the important food resources the oceans held for the peoples of the 

 world. 



In particular, they signaled the important protein resources avail- 

 able in the common jfisheries of the world. Today, 20 years later, 

 the annual world catch is realizing close to 80 million tons. 



To put this figure in perspective, it amounts to one-eighth of a pound 

 of fish per person per day for the entire world. We can see then that 

 in a short period of time how fundamental a contribution the fish 

 production of the ocean has made toward satisfying global protein re- 

 quirements. Without directly remarking it we have come, as a world, 

 to depend in an important way on this sustained yield. It is difficult to 

 see how this could be easily replaced today. 



The total sustainable yield of the oceans with current fishing tech- 

 nology is still not easy to fix, but the best estimates are that it is 100 

 million tons per year, and so we are very close to the limit of what the 

 oceans can produce in the way of this valuable resource. 



As I see it, there are three factors involved in the maintenance of 

 this level of production. The first, and perhaps most pressingly serious, 

 is that of overfishing in the absence of effective national regulations 

 and international agreements on the use and conservation of the 

 fisheries' stocks. 



We can very safely predict, on the basis of past history, that the 

 production of this vital resource will drop and drastic changes will 

 occur in the existing fisheries. 



The second danger is nature itself. We can anticipate climatological 

 changes which will affect the basic productivity of the fisheries of the 

 world, and judging by past history, and if we do not pursue a vigorous 

 understanding of these factors, production will be severely affected, at 

 least for a period of time. 



The third factor is what man himself has done, and will do to the 

 oceans as an environment. This is the subject of today's hearings and 

 we know that man's intervention in the oceans can be such as to have 

 a strong negative effect on the biological productivity of the oceans 

 themselves. In view of our worldwide dependence on the oceans as a 

 source of a basic protein food, this is a matter of considerable concern. 



Just as the marine scientific community had been in the forefront 

 in indicating the importance of the oceans as a source of protein, so 

 has the marine scientific connnunity assumed the responsibility to 

 assess the quality of our coastal and open waters and to formulate a 

 strategy through its available programs to minimize losses of resources. 



