Chapter 7 Activities of the Federal Agencies and the States 



In reviewing the activities and programs of 

 Federal agencies, the panel has found that few 

 Government organizations do not participate in 

 some measure in coastal and estuarine activities. 

 Participation may include direct operations such as 

 those of the Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard, 

 resource management and research such as carried 

 on by the Fish and Wildlife Service and Public 

 Health Service, and indirect participation through 

 planning and funding such as by the Department 

 of Housing and Urban Development. 



State and local activities are described in some 

 detail in a separate contract report' and only a 

 brief summary is included here and in Appendix 

 D. This review is limited mostly to Federal 

 agencies and more specifically to those with a 

 direct and significant role in the coastal zone. By 

 "significant" is meant those agencies with a 

 statutory mission in the coastal environment or 

 activities unique to that regime. 



The following Federal agencies have been se- 

 lected, based on the foregoing, for attention. 

 Hearings were held with these agencies^ and their 

 activities were examined in greater detail during 

 the panel's field travels. In addition, presentations 

 by these agencies to the National Council on 

 Marine Resources and Engineering Development 

 were made available to the panel. Levels of 

 funding by Federal agencies for Fiscal Years 1968 

 and 1969 for activities relating to the coastal zone 

 are shown in Table 1 . 



I. BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES 

 (BCF) 



The Bureau's background in coastal research 

 goes back to the organization of the Old Fish 

 Commission in 1871, stemming from recognition 



A Perspective of Regional and State Marine Environ- 

 mental Activities: A Questionnaire Survey, Statistics and 

 Observations, John 1. Thompson Co., Contract Report to 

 Institute of Public Administration for Commission on 

 Marine Science, Engineering and Resources, Feb. 29, 

 1968, PB177765 of the Clearinghouse for Federal Scien- 

 tific and Technical Information. 



Panel hearings with Federal agencies were held Oct. 

 9-12, 1967. See Appendix A for schedule and partici- 

 pants. 



of the importance of estuarine habitat to most of 

 this Nation's commercial fishery resources. 



Approximately 65 per cent of the U.S. annual 

 commercial fish and shellfish harvest, either by 

 volume or value, consists of species that occupy 

 estuarine areas at least during some phase of their 

 life cycle. 



The harvest comes to over three billion pounds 

 annually, with a value of nearly $400 million to 

 the fishermen.^ Included are 7 of the 10 most 

 valuable species or group of species in our com- 

 mercial fisheries, such as shrimp, which supports 

 our most valuable commercial fishery; menhaden, 

 most important in volume; salmon, second most 

 valuable; moUusks, third most valuable; plus at 

 least 70 other commercially important species. 



Estuarine and Great Lakes research is con- 

 ducted in 14 of the Bureau's 20 biological labora- 

 tories. These are shown on Figure 1. Broadly 

 speaking, activities may be grouped into: 



—Research on commercially important species (life 

 history, envirorunental requirements, causes of 

 fluctuations, and development of management 

 recommendations) 



—Fundamental ecological studies of estuarine areas 



— Apphed ecology, including: (a) pollution studies 

 (especially thermal, radiation, and pesticides), (b) 

 review of proposed physical alterations in estua- 

 rine areas for potential damage to fishery re- 

 sources, and (c) review of proposed water develop- 

 ment projects and their anticipated effect upon 

 fish and shellfish resources, with subsequent 

 development of a report including recommenda- 

 tions for compensatory or protective features. 



Although most of the Bureau's work is directed 

 toward species of commercial importance, it is 

 considered necessary to study the estuarine en- 

 vironment to develop more accurate fish forecasts, 

 to gain a better understanding of why fluctuations 

 occur, and to develop sound management recom- 

 mendations. 



Information furnished by Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries in report to panel Feb. 13, 1968. 



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